Children face solitary confinement in Illinois jail, ACLU alleges

Children as young as 11 years old are subjected to solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day at a juvenile detention facility in Illinois, according to a new lawsuit from the state's American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). 

The lawsuit, first reported by The Associated Press, was filed against the Franklin County Juvenile Detention Center in Breton, Illinois. The suit describes a series of alleged unsafe conditions and deprivation of rights at the jail, in addition to the alleged solitary confinement. While incarcerated, children must ask staff permission to perform menial tasks such as flushing a toilet, the ACLU alleges. Many of the children also go weeks without a school lesson, the ACLU alleges, a problem that is well-documented in juvenile facilities across the country. 

There are also alleged health concerns at the Franklin County facility, including black mold growing on the walls. The facility also does not have any mental health professionals on staff, according to the lawsuit.

The ACLU is seeking a court order to improve conditions at the facility, based on the prisoners' rights under the 14th Amendment. "The idea that children would spend any portion of their childhood locked in solitary confinement is an egregious abuse,"  Kevin Fee, the lead lawyer on the case, told the AP, saying the situation was "inhumane to the level of being unspeakable."

The use of solitary confinement on children has been banned by the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice since 2015. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) also signed legislation this past Friday making the solitary confinement of children illegal unless they pose "a serious and immediate risk of physical harm to himself or herself, or to others," in which case the terms of their release from solitary must be clearly outlined.