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Abstract: 

Harold Hirshman, senior counsel at the law firm of Dentons, is part of a legal team representing inmate Rasho in his suit challenging the quality of mental health care provided in the Illinois prison system. The team also included pro bono attorneys from Mayer Brown and Platt, and the advocacy firms Uptown People’s Law Center and Equip for Equality. The suit was presided over by federal district court judge Michael Mihm. This article looks back on Hirshman’s experience in Rasho, a case now more than 13 years old. He reviews the conditions in Illinois that led to the law suit, examines the extremely difficult efforts to negotiate a settlement, under the supervision of Judge Mihm,with the Illinois DOC and state’s attorney; assesses the legal theories the team used to before the federal court; and the litigation that ultimately proved necessary when settlement talks failed. The saga of Rasho v. Walker is a lesson in the many ways our correctional system fails in its constitutional duties to inmates and taxpayers—the case has been expensive, inmates and staff alike have suffered unnecessarily while the state has employed delaying tactics to avoid much-needed reforms in methods and practices, staffing levels, expertise, and budget. The article concludes with commentary by editor Fred Cohen, who served as head of a tax force charged with auditing conditions in the Illinois system and recommending improvements; the report on conditions and recommendations for change was filed, then placed under court seal, where it remains today.

Keywords: Rasho v. Walker; Illinois Department of Corrections

Affiliations:  1: Dentons US LLP.