The provocative move by the Berkeley-based Prison Law Office comes after years of the county agreeing about the need to improve its deputy-to-inmate ratios - by either increasing custody staff or reducing the jail population - but not making meaningful progress, said Donald Specter, a senior staff attorney and former executive director for the law firm, which secured the reform agreement.
According to Cummings, he would allow the members' release on a $1,500 bond as long as they have no criminal history or prior removal order. The ACLU of Illinois said that the order will mean the immediate release of 13 people who have been detained by federal officials. As part of Wednesday's order, Cummings also prohibited the government from pressuring detainees to agree to voluntary deportation while their cases are pending, the Chicago Tribune added.