Illinois Tried Hard Enough to Provide Inmates Mental Health Care

Illinois is complying with the constitutional rights of inmates to adequate mental health care despite its failure to comply with a previous class action settlement agreement, the Seventh Circuit said.

Ashoor Rasho is a mentally ill inmate who sued Illinois in 2007 for failing to provide adequate mental health care in its prisons. The parties reached a comprehensive agreement to settle the class action in 2016.

In his first annual report, the doctor assigned to monitor compliance with the agreement criticized Illinois for not meeting its terms. Most of the state’s deficiencies were caused by a chronic, severe shortage of ...