Monroe et al v. Rauner et al

Filing 552

ORDER pursuant to the March 31, 2023 status conference: The Plaintiffs' Motion for Finding of Contempt (Doc. 455 ) remains under advisement. The Court's January 19, 2023 Order (Doc. 522 ) remains in effect. The Court expects that the app ropriate "point person" designated by Defendants will participate in any meeting between counsel and the Co-Monitors at which his/her designated area will be discussed. The parties are ORDERED, at least 10 days before any scheduled meeting , to meet and confer to confirm which individuals from IDOC will be in attendance. To ensure continued timely progress and provide measurable benchmarks, the Court adopts the schedule herein (see Order for details). Signed by Chief Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel on 4/4/2023. (beb)

Case 3:18-cv-00156-NJR Document 552 Filed 04/04/23 Page 1 of 9 Page ID #13298

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
JANIAH MONROE,
MARILYN MELENDEZ,
LYDIA HELÉNA VISION,
SORA KUYKENDALL, and
SASHA REED, individually and on
behalf of a class of similarly situated
individuals,
Plaintiffs,
v.

Case No. 3:18-CV-00156-NJR

STEVE MEEKS,
MELVIN HINTON, and
ROB JEFFREYS,
Defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
ROSENSTENGEL, Chief Judge:
A Status Conference was held on March 31, 2023, via videoconference, attended
by Co-Monitors Dr. Amanda Harris and julie graham, as well as counsel for the parties.
This was another continuation of the Status Conference held on December 15, 2022, which
was continued on January 19, 2023, and February 21, 2023. Plaintiffs’ Motion for Finding
of Contempt (Doc. 455) remains under advisement. Another status conference will be
held via video on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, at 10:30 a.m.
Following the January 19 Status Conference, the Court entered an Order setting
deadlines for certain actions, reports, and certifications to be completed (Doc. 522). That
Order, which contains future deadlines and directives, remains in effect. Reports have

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mostly been submitted timely, and some progress has been made in certain areas. For
example, as discussed by Co-Monitor Dr. Harris, hormone therapy for class members has
improved, referrals to the endocrinology consultant have been made, and regular
monitoring indicates that a majority of class members receiving hormone therapy are
achieving therapeutic levels. 1
Unfortunately, however, progress has continued to be sluggish in several key
areas, including scheduling consultations for class members who have been approved for
gender affirming surgery; finding additional providers for less complicated surgeries;
providing training programs to IDOC staff and to inmates at Logan; and ensuring the
availability of gender affirming commissary items and clothing. Class members continue
to report incidents of noncompliance with the Court’s Orders (and stated IDOC policies)
prohibiting cross-gender body searches. (See Doc. 546). This is not acceptable. Privacy
for class members while showering has still not been achieved in some locations despite
Defendants’ certifications of compliance. (Doc. 546). Co-Monitor graham is addressing
these issues institution-by-institution—however, private showers and elimination of
cross-gender body searches should have been accomplished long ago.
The parties’ attorneys (and some IDOC representatives) held one meeting with the
Co-Monitors in February 2023 to work on substantive matters, and these meetings will
continue on a monthly basis. Defendants, as ordered, have identified a “point person” for

As previously ordered, Defendants are to file quarterly updates regarding blood hormone levels
for all class members. (Doc. 522). The first of these was due in January 2023 and was produced in
February 2023.

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accountability and communication in these areas of concern:
Brittney Schroeder, commissary;
Dr. Lamenta Conway, hormone therapy and gender affirming surgery;
Dr. William Puga, CQI program for transgender care, transfers, and the
transgender ID policy;
Justin Hammers, showers, searches, and training;
Dr. Shane Reister, PRISM program;
Michael Long, conditions at Logan Correctional Center.
(Doc. 531, p. 2).
In order to step up the pace of progress in achieving constitutionally adequate
conditions of confinement for the class, the Court expects that the appropriate “point
person” will participate 2 in any meeting between counsel and the Co-Monitors at
which his/her designated area will be discussed. 3 It is imperative that these meetings
are attended by the IDOC official(s) who have decision-making responsibility and
accountability on the matter under discussion, and that participating officials are
informed on the health care issues involved in all aspects of the ordered preliminary
injunctive relief. To that end, the parties are ORDERED, at least 10 days before any
scheduled meeting, to meet and confer to confirm which individuals from IDOC will
be in attendance. The participating individuals may be identified by name or by
position.
Participation may be achieved remotely by video or telephone.
The parties report that their next meeting to address issues related to compiling and updating
the list of persons in custody included in the class is set for April 14, 2023. They anticipate meeting
in May to address commissary and gender affirming items.
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The Court finds it necessary to adopt the following schedule, to ensure continued
timely progress and provide measurable benchmarks. Future timelines set forth in the
Order of January 24, 2023 (Doc. 522) are included below. The parties and Co-Monitors
are ORDERED to do the following:
1. HORMONE THERAPY:
Defendants shall continue to monitor class members’ blood hormone levels
every three months and shall file quarterly updates regarding blood levels
of all class members to the Court under seal and to Co-Monitor Harris.
2. GENDER AFFIRMING SURGERY:
a. Defendants were ordered to file under seal by February 28, 2023, a list of
providers contacted for gender affirming surgery. This was not done
because Defendants represented that Dr. Schechter would be able to
provide all approved surgeries for class members. However, only three
individuals have undergone surgery to date, out of the 16 people whose
surgery requests have been approved. Defendants are ORDERED to
report whether and when another surgical provider at Rush Medical
Center will start accepting patients for gender affirming surgery, no later
than April 14, 2023. If availability of another provider at Rush cannot be
confirmed by that date, then Defendants shall file under seal a list of
other providers contacted for gender affirming surgery, no later than
April 14, 2023.
b. Defendants were ordered to schedule, for the class members approved for
surgery as of January 4, 2023, a surgical consultation with Dr. Schechter to
take place no later than March 8, 2023. It appears that only three out of the
remaining 13 approved individuals have had their consultations to date. It
is unclear whether the additional 10 consultations have occurred or are
scheduled. Defendants are ORDERED to schedule consultations with Dr.
Schechter for these individuals, to take place no later than April 7, 2023
(as previously ordered), and to provide the consultation dates to
Plaintiffs’ counsel and Co-Monitor Harris.
c. Defendants state they complied with the order to provide written decisions
by March 8, 2023, to each class member who had requested surgery as of
January 4, 2023, but had not previously been approved or denied. Any
written decision denying surgery was to include the basis for denial,
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including next steps. Defendants shall provide copies of these
communications to Plaintiffs’ counsel no later than April 7, 2023. Going
forward, for any decisions made since January 4 on gender affirming
surgery requests by class members, Defendants shall provide Plaintiffs’
counsel a copy of each written decision issued to a class member.
3. CQI:
Defendants have certified to the Court that IDOC has a working
audit/compliance tool and have provided the revised audit/compliance
tool to Co-Monitor Harris for review and comment, but Plaintiffs’ counsel
did not receive it. Co-Monitor Harris reports that clarification is needed
because all class members were not included in the tool provided to her. By
April 14, 2023, Defendants shall provide the revised audit/compliance tool
in its native format to Plaintiffs’ counsel and to Co-Monitor Harris for
review. Defendants shall also communicate and provided updates to CoMonitor Harris and Plaintiffs’ counsel as all class members are added to the
CQI tool.
4. TRANSFERS:
a. By February 1, 2023, Defendants were to update and file under seal the chart
showing transfer requests by class members and whether requests were
approved or denied, including copies of the associated documentation for
denials, and to provide this documentation to Plaintiffs’ counsel and to the
Co-Monitors. Defendants complied (Docs. 531, 532), but the documentation
showed only a small number of transfer requests were considered between
October 2022 and February 2023, and it was unclear whether
reconsideration had taken place for those whose transfer requests were
denied during 2021-2022. The list also contained incorrect information on
the location of several class members. The parties are ORDERED to confer
on this matter and propose a schedule for IDOC to promptly reconsider
transfer requests from class members who have been denied, and to timely
consider new requests from class member who seek to move to a different
facility as part of their social transition. The proposed schedule shall be filed
with the Court on or before April 25, 2023. Also by that date, Defendants
shall file under seal any update to the transfer information filed at Doc. 532.
b. Defendants shall consider offering a transfer to individual class members
where appropriate, to facilitate improved care and social transition, and
shall consult with Plaintiffs’ counsel and Co-Monitor Harris on criteria and
situations where a transfer offer should be made.

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c. The current committee structure for deciding on class members’ transfer
requests, and the qualifications of the individuals involved continues to be
a concern in light of the slow pace of action on class members’ transfer
requests, and merits continued attention from the parties and Co-Monitors
to devise possible solutions.
5. ISOLATION AT LOGAN:
Defendants provided documentation to the Co-Monitors and Plaintiffs’ counsel
regarding class members housed on Logan’s D-Wing. The explanation that DWing is the location where incoming transferred inmates are housed until an
appropriate placement is made is satisfactory at this time.
6. COMMISSARY:
The parties are continuing to confer with each other and the Co-Monitors to
achieve adequate commissary supplies of gender affirming items throughout
IDOC facilities and to reach agreement on the items to be included in a genderaffirming kit for all class members as standard-issue medical care. Co-Monitor
graham is consulting with Ms. Schroeder on the overall commissary supply issues
including inventory tracking, surveying class members to identify desired items,
and gender affirming clothing needs. More work is needed in this area and is
ongoing. The parties shall continue this process and shall set compliance deadlines
for the gender-affirming kit to be distributed to all class members and to any new
transgender person entering IDOC custody. Issues for discussion include what to
do if different class members want different items, and whether replenishment of
such items for class members will be honored as medical care. The parties shall be
prepared to report on progress in this area at the next status hearing.
7. SHOWERS:
a. Defendants have filed new certifications from each IDOC facility that
houses at least one class member that such facility provides a private
shower for each class member. (Docs. 540, updated at Docs. 547-550)).
Unfortunately, incidents of noncompliance have continued to occur.
(Docs. 545, 546). 4 Co-Monitor graham has followed up these reports with
individual facilities and achieved some corrections, but informs the Court
that it will be necessary to address issues with each individual facility
because general information from higher administration has not resulted in
compliance with the Court’s Order to provide private showers to class
The parties’ 14-day time frame to respond to Co-Monitor graham’s notice of noncompliance
regarding showers has not yet expired as of the date of this Order.

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members.
b. Plaintiffs’ counsel shall advise the Court and Co-Monitor graham within
seven days of their receipt of any reports of noncompliance with the private
shower requirement.
c. The parties and Co-Monitors shall discuss and agree on the procedures and
deadlines to transfer any class member from a facility that fails to provide
him/her/them with a private shower, to a facility where compliance has
been achieved. A joint status report on this issue shall be filed by April 25,
2023.
8. SEARCHES:
a. Defendants submitted the certification letters from each IDOC facility
housing at least one class member that such facility will conduct timely
searches only by a person of the same gender as the class member or by
using a body scanner. (Doc. 543). Unfortunately, however, problems persist
at some institutions (Doc. 546). 5 Co-Monitor graham will continue to follow
up with the individual institutions to correct the problems identified,
including availability of female officers to conduct searches, and adequate
planning to ensure timely searches for pre-planned events such as court
and medical writs.
b. The parties and Co-Monitors shall discuss and agree on the procedures and
deadlines to transfer any class member from a facility that fails to comply
with the search provisions above, to a facility where compliance has been
achieved. A joint status report on this issue shall be filed by April 25, 2023.
9. TRAINING:
a. Defendants reported that training of IDOC staff who will conduct training
of other staff at Logan should take place in the next two weeks. Defendants
shall report to the Court, Plaintiffs’ counsel, and the Co-Monitors, on or
before April 25, 2023, on the content of that training and who participated,
as well as the expected timeline for training of all Logan staff to be
completed.
b. A timeline for training of all incarcerated persons at Logan (which is to be
reviewed and approved by Co-Monitor graham) has still not been set. By
The parties’ 14-day time frame to respond to Co-Monitor graham’s notice of noncompliance
regarding searches has not yet expired as of the date of this Order.

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April 25, 2023, Defendants shall report the status of the training program
being developed by the Moss Group for all incarcerated persons at Logan
and the date by which such training will be completed. The parties and CoMonitor graham shall discuss and agree on the date by which the training
of incarcerated persons at Logan will be completed.
c. It is clear to the Court that IDOC staff who deal with class members on a
day-to-day basis must not only be given meaningful training on interacting
with class members in a professional manner (e.g., refraining from
misgendering, “outing,” and harassing class members) but also must be
held accountable for misconduct and unprofessional behavior towards
class members. Supervisors and administrators must take these matters
seriously, model professional behavior, and hold their staff accountable.
While some IDOC-wide training has been completed as previously
ordered, class members continue to experience unprofessional and
threatening interactions with IDOC staff. Further training and steps to
remedy these ongoing issues must continue to be a matter for the parties,
including the named Defendants and the Co-Monitors, to address. CoMonitor graham reports she has requested Chief Hammers to create an
internal training for administrative staff to hold their subordinates
accountable in the areas on which they are trained. Defendants shall report
the status of developing this training component and the expected timeline
to conduct the training by April 25, 2023.
d. The parties and both Co-Monitors shall discuss and agree on the date by
which additional WPATH training will be completed for all medical and
mental health providers serving class members. Defendants shall file
certificates of completion by medical/mental health staff no later than June
30, 2023.
10. ADDITIONAL MATTERS & REPORTING (As Ordered in Doc. 522):
a. The parties and Co-Monitors shall discuss and set timeframes for
Defendants to provide copies to Co-Monitor graham and Plaintiffs’ counsel
of all class member grievances concerning staff conduct relating to the
issues in this case, and for Defendants to provide copies to Co-Monitor
graham and Plaintiffs’ counsel, and file under seal, of any investigation or
disciplinary actions taken against a staff member for violations of AD
03.02.108 (Standards of Conduct) relating to the issues in this case.
b. Continuing on a monthly basis, Defendants shall provide Plaintiffs’ counsel
with updates to the IDOC transgender databases for medical care and
accommodation.
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c. Defendants shall provide to Plaintiffs’ counsel any other documents
provided to the Co-Monitors, at intervals agreed upon by the parties and
Co-Monitors.
d. Defendants shall continue to consult with Co-Monitor graham on the
contents and finalization of the “FAQ” handout for transgender/gender
nonconforming individuals in custody. This should include information to
class members on the procedure to request transfer to a different institution.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: April 4, 2023
____________________________
NANCY J. ROSENSTENGEL
Chief U.S. District Judge

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