CHHRGE coalition urges city, Cook County courts to enact robust plan to ensure safe, equitable participation in hearings and reduce COVID–19 exposure among the most vulnerable

Editor’s Note: Chicago Coalition for the Homeless has signed on to the following letter, sent July 13 to Timothy C. Evans, chief judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County and to E. Kenneth Wright, Jr., presiding judge of the First Municipal District Court Civil Division.

The letter was submitted on behalf of the Chicago Homelessness and Health Response Group for Equity (CHHRGE), a coalition of healthcare and emergency shelter providers responding to the COVID–19 pandemic among those most vulnerable to the virus.

Subject: General Order 2020-12 Procedures for Civil Division Matters

The courts opened on July 6, 2020 with a massive influx in litigants appearing for non-emergency civil matters. At times, lines have grown long and dense at Daley Center with limited space to adequately distance. We have serious concerns relating to the courts’ and court-stationed Chicago police officers’ ability to adhere to the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) COVID–19 guidance and, in turn, the risk associated with people experiencing or at-risk of homelessness appearing in court. We fear that a more robust plan is needed to ensure safe and equitable participation in hearings and reduce COVID–19 exposure among the most vulnerable members of our community.

With approximately 51,000 confirmed COVID–19 cases in Chicago as of late June, those experiencing or at-risk of homelessness are uniquely vulnerable to the virus. Many Chicagoans at risk for homelessness live in congregate or crowded settings where risk for COVID-19 infection and spread is higher—settings such as homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, substance use recovery homes, nursing homes and low-income senior buildings, and SROs and other low income studio buildings.

Homelessness is expected to climb dramatically during the worsening economic downturn triggered by the pandemic. Vulnerable populations have lost work and healthcare access, and are often unable to access economic supports such as Unemployment Insurance, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, and tax-based stimulus checks.

And while the Chicago Homelessness and Health Response Group for Equity (CHHRGE) has successfully worked with CDPH and other partners to respond to the COVID-19 outbreaks in shelters over the last 3 months, the threat of COVID has not yet passed, and the shelter system does not have the capacity to safely absorb an influx of individuals becoming homeless through legal cases resulting in an eviction order.

Given the demographics of homelessness and housing instability in Chicago and Cook County, this Order will disproportionately impact Black litigants experiencing or at-risk of homelessness. Black Chicagoans make up 61% of the total population experiencing homelessness, and over the past decade, majority Black neighborhoods consistently experience eviction filing rates two to four times higher than majority Latinx or white areas. This is especially concerning given the COVID–19 mortality rate for Black Chicagoans is more than double the rate for white Chicagoans.

Since the Court re-opened on July 6, we have consistently seen a concentration of litigants waiting in line in-person at the Daley Center. One reason for this influx of people presenting in-person is that many people experiencing or at-risk of homelessness lack reliable computer, phone, or internet access (this includes those in City- and State- funded COVID–19 shielding and isolation units.) In the absence of a reliable virtual connection, these individuals will need to go to the courthouse in-person. In-person court dates put additional strain on our social safety net, since very few shelter facilities have spaces for quarantining shelter residents upon their return from court. Additionally, lines and a concentration of people at the courthouse poses a broader public health risk for all Chicagoans given the inability to adequately social distance and prevent spread of COVID–19.

Illinoisans have spent three months sheltering at home and wearing masks as a proactive strategy to prevent the spread of COVID–19, rather than allowing spread and treating the disease. We urge the County of Cook to apply this same principle to the problem of court administration. For the health and safety of our city and county during the COVID–19 crisis, we are advocating for a more robust plan to ensure safe and equitable participation in hearings and reduce COVID–19 exposure among the most vulnerable members of our community.

Sincerely,

CHHRGE Partners and Supporters

The Chicago Homelessness and Health Response Group for Equity (CHHRGE) is a coalition of

healthcare and emergency shelter providers responding to the COVID–19 pandemic among those

most vulnerable to the virus.

 

CHHRGE Partner and Supporting Organizations

AIDS Foundation of Chicago

All Chicago Making Homelessness History

Breakthrough Urban Ministries

Chicago Coalition for the Homeless

Chicago Street Medicine

Connections for the Homeless

Deborah’s Place

Franciscan Outreach

Health & Medicine Policy Research Group

Heartland Alliance Health

Illinois Public Health Institute

Lakeview Pantry

Lawndale Christian Health Center

LUCHA (Latin United Community Housing Association)

New Moms Inc

North Side Housing & Supportive Services

Northwestern Medicine

Renaissance Social Services

Rush University Medical Center

Saint Anthony Hospital, Community Wellness Program

The ARK

The Dina and Eli Field EZRA Multi-Service Center

UI Health Mile Square Health Centers

Uptown People’s Law Center

Westside Justice Center

White Coats for Black Lives Chapter, Loyola University of Chicago Stritch School of Medicine

 

Individual CHHRGE Members and Supporters

Aaron Park

Adam Beer

Adithya Sivakumar, M.D. Candidate

Amanda Hejna, M.P.A.

Amina Dreessen, Student

Angela Moss

Anise Farooqi

Anjelica Reyes, M.S. Candidate

Barbara Shaw, DNP, FNP-BC

Breanna Corle

Regina Shasha, FNP, PMHNP, BC

Casandra Rdzak

Chelsea Dare

Cindy Nissen, MSN, APN

Colleen Montgomery

David Ansell, M.D.

Deborah Edberg, M.D.

Dhivya Sridar

Donna Greer

Elizabeth Coen

Elizabeth Duff

Ellen Murchie

Emily Hejna

Emmy Rothschild

Greg Nergaard

Leora Cramer

Leslie Fenio, PA-S

Liliana Tinoco

Lisa Oppenheim

Liza Duchesneau

MacKenzie Speer

Maggie Cross

Maribeth Stein

Matthew Downing, M.D. Candidate

Maura Benson, Student

Megan McClung, J.D.

Mildred Williamson, PhD, MSW

Nahae Kim

Nancy B Powers

Nancy J. Heil, M.D.

Nathaniel Schwartz, M.D. Candidate

Nichole Reinen, MSN/CNL Candidate

Nicole Czarna

Onyeka Umeadi, MS

Paloma McDonnell

Peter Markee, M.D. Candidate

Rachel Sanchez

Raechel Ferry-Rooney, DNP, APRN, ANP

Rebecca Lara, MD, EdM

Regina Shasha, FNP, PMHNP, BC

Gregory L. Bowman

Guadalupe Perez, RN

Iisha McDavis

Jacob Ryan Storck, MSW

Jesse Webb, M.D. Candidate

Jessica L. Simpson, M.D. Candidate

Joseph J. Hennessy, M.D.

Joseph Zanoni, PhD, MILR

Josh Oppenheim-Rothschild

Katherine Adams

Katherine O’Connell, BSN

Katherine Williams

Kathryn A Kaintz

Kayla Byrne, BA Candidate

Kelly Harmon

Keyira Jones

Lauren A. Cole

Lauren Walker, OTR/L

Leah Brodsky, M.D. Candidate

Robert Plantenberg

Ruth Oppenheim-Rothschild

Sabina Wong, M.D.

Samson Frendo

Samuel P. Carlson, MPA

Samuel Russo

Sara Jean Lindholm

Sean Elliott

Shaina Shetty, M.D.

Shannon Ericson

Shannon Maloney

Shannon Morris MSN, CNL Candidate

Sharon Grimm

Shivaliben Patel

Sheryl Rubel, LCSW

Stephanie Moss, M.D. Candidate

Steven K. Rothschild, M.D.

Tara Noonan, LCSW