THE TAMMS YEAR TEN CAMPAIGN
In 1998, the first prisoners were transferred from prisons across the state to Tamms CMAX, in Southern Illinois. This new “supermax” prison, designed to keep men in constant solitary confinement, was intended for short-term incarceration. The IDOC called it a one-year “shock treatment.” Now, ten years later, over one-third of the original prisoners have been there for a decade. They have lived in isolation 24/7—no human contact, no phone calls, no communal activity.
Year Ten is a coalition of prisoners, ex-prisoners, families, artists and other concerned citizens who have come together to protest the misguided and inhumane policies at Tamms C-MAX, and to call for an end to psychological torture. We have initiated a program of cultural, educational and political events to publicize Tamms after ten years of operation.
TY10 CAMPAIGN NEWS
Last night's forum, Throwing Away the Key, was an overwhelming success. A long list of speakers including former prisoners, legislators, lawyers and activists addressed the standing room only crowd. Check back later for audio from last night's event, and check out our Flickr pool for photos.
Just noticed this on Miscellaneous Projects. Its a little bit old, but Daniel Tucker posted this report back from the hearings for HB 6651. Check it out, and while you're at it, take a look at AREA Chicago's issue on criminal justice and the prison industrial complex in Chicago.
So much to do, so little time.
7/26 –Saturday– 12 - 8 PM. Southside Peace Fest
115th and Halsted, Chicago
8/1 —Friday—6:30 PM. Tamms Letter Writing at Insight Arts
1545 W Morse, Chicago
8/6 –Wednesday– 7:00 PM. Throwing Away the Key
600 S. Michigan, Chicago
8/20 —Wednesday—10 AM. Prison Reform Committee Hearing on Elderly Sentence Adjustment Act
James R. Thompson Center, 16th floor, Room 503
100 W. Randolph, Chicago
Check the events tab for more details on any of these, but please do everything you can to make it to the Forum on 8/6 and the hearings on 8/20.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Reps. Eddie Washington, Karen A. Yarbrough, and Julie Hamos came out on Sunday of Memorial Day weekend to speak to the press about their concerns about Tamms. They mentioned the adminstrative black hole that has left 100 men there for a decade, the human rights concerns about prolonged isolation, and the lack of criteria or standards for transferring men to Tamms. They especially emphasized how inappropriate it is to house mentally ill people in Tamms, and they feel that prolonged isolation is a form of punishment so extreme that it requires careful oversight. Ex-prisoners told about their experiences and attorney Jean Snyder gave an overview of Tamms and why this prison is such poor public policy. Stephen F. Eisenman spoke about the huge coalition that has formed in response to the crisis at Tamms.
We were so pleased that bill co-sponsor Rep. Connie Howard spoke to lend her support. Finally, U.S. Rep. Danny Davis spoke on behalf of this bill and his fellow lawmakers. It would have been an incredible event without any press, but there were at least 7 press outlets--and we were covered by the Tribune, SunTimes, WGN, Ch 44, CLTV, and an AP report that appeared in a number of places, including WBEZ. We will update the press list soon!
LEGISLATORS INTRODUCED A BILL TO REFORM TAMMS SUPERMAX! HB 6651 was introduced on Thursday, May 22 to the Illinois House of Representatives. Rep. Julie Hamos is the sponsor, and the chief co-sponsors are: Reps. Karen A. Yarbrough - Eddie Washington - Elga L. Jefferies - Arthur L. Turner. These are fantastic legislators and we are very honored to be working with them. They are truly concerned about human rights violations at Tamms C-MAX.
Read about the bill, or read the bill itself, or track the bill, straight from the Illinois General Assembly.
HB6651 seeks to end indefinite sentences of solitary confinement and establish clear criteria for deciding who should be transferred to Tamms supermax prison. The bill will establish the following:
1. Prisoners can only be sent to Tamms if they assault (or attempt to assault) guards or other prisoners, escape from custody, or otherwise seriously disrupt prison operations.
2. Prisoners must be told why they are being sent to Tamms and be given a fair hearing.
3. Prisoners will not remain at Tamms for more than one year, unless transferring them back would endanger the safety of staff or other prisoners.
4. Prisoners with a serious mental illness will not be sent to Tamms.
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PLEASE ATTEND THE PRESS CONFERENCE ANNOUNCING THIS BILL!
If you are in town, it is your moral obligation to come. Our numbers are low because of the holiday weekend.
LOBBY DAY--TUESDAY, MAY 20
Tuesday in Springfield was totally out of hand! We drove down to Springfield, we met with our legislators, we were introduced in both the House and the Senate, we came close to seeing the bill introduced, the bill sponsors organized a press conference and then it was trumped by the governor! We were unfazed. We regrouped and decided to have a press conference in Chicago that Sunday.
Tons of thanks to Jim Chapman for making this happen and chartering this really comfortable bus and, along with Johnny Outlaw, getting people on it. And for providing croissants (yes croissants) and lots of bottled water. Thanks to Bill Ryan for detailed advice about which legislators to see and what to say. Thank you so much to those who could not be there and made generous donations to help us out--like Luther and Kristen and Sara!
Here's the long version:
1. WE WERE READY
We hit Springfield with 26 people dressed in red. Some of us were wearing the Tamms t-shirts that say "isolation is NOT a solution." (These are the sweatshop-free shirts made for us by the work coop that employs homeless folks and ex-offenders in Salinas, CA.) We also had these smart square buttons that Jerome designed. A couple of legislators actually asked for these buttons!
2. WE LOBBIED REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS
We stood outside the House floor while it was in session and called our legislators out to meet us one at a time. We talked to dozens of representatives about Tamms and about the bill, and later met more legislators in their offices. A surprising number of legislators were enthusiastic.
3. WE WERE RECOGNIZED BY BOTH HOUSES
Then, we went to the Senate gallery where our group was introduced to the Senate by Sen. Rickey Hendon (we were asked to stand up and be recognized) and then we went over to the House gallery and Tamms Year Ten was recognized by Rep. Art Turner. Turner read the Tamms Year Ten mission statement and many of the legislators looked up from the House floor and waved at us in the gallery.
4. WE PREPARED FOR A PRESS CONFERENCE
Our legislative sponsors (Hamos, Yarbrough, Washington, Jeffries, Turner) decided to HOLD A PRESS CONFERENCE AT 4PM since Tamms Year Ten was there. Jean made final edits in the LRB and we prepared for a press conference! But, our use of the press room was trumped by Governor Blagojevich. He is the only one who can bump legislators from their press conferences!
5. WE MET WITH THE REPS
We met with our reps as a large group and talked about Tamms. We decided to try to do the same press conference in Chicago on Sunday instead even though the Sunday-day-before-Memorial Day isn't a great day for press. But Springfield is only reporting on the budget so she figured it was just as good ultimately.
STRAIGHT FROM THE LAST MEETING
Former Tamms prisoner Daniel James tells of his experience after release.
TAMMS LEGISLATION
The excess of cruelty at Tamms, which no one knew anything about just a couple months ago has actually become a buzz in the legislature. AND THIS HAPPENED WITHOUT ANY MAJOR PRESS. It happened because individuals called their legislators, attended the hearings, and got the word out in a thousand different ways. This is the combined effort from family, ex-prisoners, attorneys, artists, activists, organizations and hundreds of other good people. Thanks to everyone--we knew the facts about Tamms and we spread the word. When people find out about Tamms, they want to act.
But bills DO NOT SURVIVE ON THEIR OWN--they need legislators and citizens fighting for them. (Or high-paid lobbyists which we don't have at the moment.) That is why we need a short sharp strike from this campaign right now.
This bill is up against incredible odds--this is a complex issue, in an election year, with infighting and stonewalling in the state legislature. But, the biggest problem of all is TIME.
More details on the bill soon...it doesn't have a number yet.
UNBELIEVABLE
The hearings were an incredible success. Over 110 people came, and there were only 65 chairs! The testimony was disturbing to everyone present. Many of our legislators came--including some who were not on the committee. We thank each of them. And we thank Rep. Washington for holding the hearings.
There were so many people at the hearings, and so many legislators, that they are working on legislation for this term. Their goal is to bring transparency and standards to the process of sending people to Tamms, and to review all of the people who are there. This, alone, feels like we have achieved the impossible.
THE HEARINGS ABOUT TAMMS
We expect legislators. We need you.
9:00 am: Public event in front of James R. Thompson Center. We will count off hatchmarks for each day Tamms C-MAX has been open.
10:00 am: Hearings on the second floor, Room 2-025.
WEAR RED. Let us know if you are coming!
10:00 am: Hearings on the second floor, Room 2-025.
WEAR RED. Let us know if you are coming!
Sewing Rebellion
On Sunday, Marianne, Diana and Carole hosted a Sewing Rebellion and sewed and screen hoods and helped and advised with everything. Matthias screened armbands and patches. Jerome designed a banner based on what we agreed upon at the Saturday meeting--and he and Nadya and Hylda and others made it come true. In fact, each person sewed on a letter in a sewing circle. Gretchen and Nick made posters.
Meeting at People's Church--April 19
With only 9 days until the hearings, this meeting was focused. We discussed Tamms and got information from ex-prisoners. We planned the public event, what the banner would say, what the signs would say, and what color we would wear. RED. We counted how many people we thought we could bring--and the total was 60 not including Rory and his group! We split up the phone calls into groups of 5 to call and remind people about the hearings. We also signed post cards to the prisoners, At the end of the meeting, Johnny read a letter from one of the prisoners.
AREA magazine and Sewing Rebellion allies
AREA magazine has a brand new blog called "ReportBack" and the very first entry was written by Laurie Palmer about a Tamms Poetry Commitee event. She wrote it on the day of the ten-year anniversary of the opening of Tamms C-MAX. In other exciting art news, we have just gotten the endorsement of the Sewing Rebellion. They are hosting a special Sewing Rebellion + Tamms Year Ten event for us to make the hoods for the press event before the hearings.
Call Your Legislator
If you are reading this, you should be calling your legislator! Go to ACT NOW for more details.
Uptown People's Law Petition
Please download, print and collect signatures for this petition circulated by the Uptown People's Law Center asking that the men at Tamms each be allowed to make a call home during the month of May for Mother’s Day.
Hideout Video
Gretchen edited this video of the Tamms Year Ten benefit at the Hideout. Mary L. Johnson speaks, followed by Elmore James Jr.
Alternet
Conditions in Tamms made the front page of Alternet today. Jessica Pupovac wrote a great story "How Prisons Got To Be So Cruel" which focuses on Tamms C-MAX and features interviews with Reginald Akkeem Berry, Jean Maclean Snyder, and Alan Mills.
Pilgrims to Tamms
For the past six years women from churches in the Belleville area have pilgrimaged to Tamms, Illinois to join members of St. Francis Xavier in Carbondale for a prayer vigil outside the supermax prison. The 270 held in that prison are kept in their cells 23 hours a day in spaces about 8' by 10' with no group activities. The feeling of being "buried alive is real" for many encased there. The pilgrims want to show their solidarity with those inmates, many of whom have been there since the prison opened ten years ago this March. All those who feel this solidarity are invited to join us between 2 and 3 pm, Good Friday. Carpooling will be available from the Newman Center at 1 pm. Call Elsie Speck if interested. Contact YearTen@riseup.net.
Reports Back from the Benefit
The experimental jazz trio Rupert (trumpeter Jaimie Branch, drummer Marc Riordan and guitarist Toby Summerfield) played a tonally complex and emotionally rich set of challenging and intensely rewarding music. Trumpeter Jaimie Branch introduced one of the tunes as being inspired by thinking about Tamms, and it was a devastating piece--the sound of rage and despair through cacophonous clattering and wailing, which eventually receded into a thin, ghostly, and deeply sorrowful trumpet melody. Elmore James Jr. and the Broomdusters followed with two sets of rousing, rollicking, old-fashioned blues, including their soulful take on the Calvin Leavy classic "Cummins Prison Farm."
The incredible Mary L. Johnson spoke. As Jan said, "You could hear a pin drop" in that bar while she spoke about her son being in Tamms for ten years. We also had a special guest Johnny who just got out of Tamms C-MAX in September and spoke on behalf of the guys who are still there. He had written the Tamms Poetry Committee while he was inside.
Above, Mary L. Johnson. Below, Darby Tillis and James Elmore, Jr.
Many people who attended found out about Tamms for the first time and were moved to donate, take literature, and sign the phone call petition. CAFF made t-shirts and tank tops and some beautiful posters. No amount of Elmore James, Jr., sexy Jamie, and the Broomdusters Band felt like enough! Even the dance party patrons were demanding more.
Elmore James, Jr.--incredible bluesman and slide guitar player with rousing, soulful Broomdusters band.
www.elmorejamesjr.com/
Rupert--a trio of Chicago's finest experimental jazz musicians: trumpeter Jaimie Branch, drummer Marc Riordan, and guitarist Toby Summerfield.
www.myspace.com/rupertchicago
From "Must-See Music" at Center Stage Chicago:
James, the son of slide-guitar hero, Elmore James, carries on the "Broomduster" legend. All at once a country proverb for starting a new life, the name of Elmore Sr.'s supporting band and a nod to the song that carries one of blues' most infamous licks ("Dust My Broom"), the Broomdusters mean serious business. Elmore Jr. is on torch-carrying duty, sliding electric Mississippi Delta blues as if Pops were reliving his glory days. Newbie jazz trio Rupert opens. The evening is a benefit for the improvement of prisoner conditions at downstate, permanent-solitary-confinement facility, Tamms C-Max. (Gavin Paul)
Link to Center Stage Chicago review.
Link to Time Out Chicago review.
THE TRADESHOW Live performance installation by RATIO and Chicago Arts District organized by Sheelah Murthy and Erica Mott
1915 S. Halsted St, Chicago IL FInd out about RATIO!
On Friday evening, RATIO held the first performance of The Tradeshow, a performance installation about unseen people and labor. It was strange and amazing, and featured Sheelah's 8 year old daughter who was overheard saying, "Tamms, Tamms, Tamms...that's all I ever hear about anymore."
Many Year Ten activists--Geneva, Linda, Olga, Laurie Jo, Nadya, Claire, Rebecca, Michael and Emily--all stood in the window of a Pilsen art gallery during the art walk and flagged down pedestrian traffic for the performance. Since we had so much visibility, we decided to make the Tamms C-MAX issue even more real. We took a marker, and wrote on our t-shirts: "Ask me about Tamms C-MAX" and "Help me shut down Tamms" and "Tamms is torture."
It seemed like we talked to hundreds of people that night. Check the calendar for more events at this Pilsen storefront galllery.
Guantanamo Bay prisoners will now be given phone calls:
WBEZ RADIO STORY on Tamms C-MAX
Tuesday, MARCH 11 at 9am and 8pm.
Listen to the show Eight Forty-Eight on WBEZ which is 91.5 FM.
The show airs at 9am, and then again at 8pm.
Listen to the show Eight Forty-Eight on WBEZ which is 91.5 FM.
The show airs at 9am, and then again at 8pm.
ARTICLE FROM THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN
PRESS CONFERENCE
Thanks and blessings to everyone who attended the press conference. There were 56 people and even some press (5 individuals). Afterwards, a TY10 spokesperson Stephen Eisenman (who has written about torture) was on the Cliff Kelley show on WVON for 30 minutes!
People discussed all aspects of this atrocity. Stephen Eisenman, author of The Abu-Ghrab Effect, detailed the facts about Tamms, and why prolonged isolation is condemned as torture. There were powerful accounts from Larry, Jerome and Akkeem, three men who spent years in Tamms---and were among the first to arrive. As always, they are the most persuasive reason to stop this prison from operating. They even gave us insights that we hadn't heard before--and Akkeen held up awesome placards (he is always reminding us to be visual). Jean Maclean Snyder gave us a legal reality check about this place--and who said an attorney can't give a rousing speech? Mary L. Johnson spoke about her son who has been in Tamms for ten years--and what it has done to his family. She said it is like visiting a tomb to see him behind the glass wall, but when someone dies, at least you can touch the body. She called for everyone to use the love and higher power God has given them to help the sons of other people. Audience members spoke, and poets performed.
- Doris talked about her visit to Tamms with Rep. Lou Jones, and the scratch marks on the plexi-glass of a room where they keep mentally ill people when they first arrive
- Denise talked about prisoners not being allowed to use the bathroom if they need to in the middle of a visit (many prisoners have urinated while shackled on the concrete stool rather than end a visit with a loved one)
- A man spoke about the control-unit at Marion to put Tamms in a historical context nationally, and in Illinois
- Sharon spoke about inhumane visitation policies--searching cars and denying non-contact visits
- Jim Chapman said we give the IDOC too much credit. They are totally broke and don't know what they are doing
- After the press conference, Richard Wallace blew us away with his spoken word poems, accompanied by an incredible singer.
- Baba Griot got up to read, and first honored a man explaining that it is a Swahili practice to ask permission to read from an elder. He read in Swahili before he performed poetry about Tamms. It was a privilege to hear him!
CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
We need volunteers for upcoming Year Ten events, and for the ones in April. Let us know if you are coming and want to help! Actually, we need volunteers for everyhing you can think of! And Sheelah of our sponsoring group RATIO needs volunteers right now--people who can help them install (hammer, drill, saw, hold items) the work. And people who are not shy about performing.
YOUR CONNECTIONS
We need to encourage our elected officials in both houses of General Assembly to attend the House Prison Reform Committee Hearings on Tamms C-MAX. This is what we want--for our representatives to come hear the facts about Tamms C-MAX. We will be asking you to join us in calling your legislators, and if you have personal relations with them already, all the better. Teaching them about the issue long before we call for legislation is the way to gather support for this--no reason to take them by surprise. Plus, elected officials need "the protection" of knowing that there is public concern about it. A little bit of your effort here will make a huge difference.
We are at the point in this campaign where we cannot grow without you. Please introduce this campaign to other individuals, groups and organizations--and help us figure out how we can work together on this. We need your solidarity and networking action
RECENT ENDORSERS
We are honored to have the endorsements of Men and Women in Prison Ministries, Illinois Prison Talk, and the Illinois Campaign for Telephone Justice--thank you. Please let us know of other groups who would like to endorse.
THROWING AWAY THE KEY
A Public Forum on the Effects
of Long Term Sentencing
August 6, 2008, Wednesday 7:00PM.
600 South Michigan Avenue
Hosted by Cliff Kelly of WVON Radio
A Public Forum on the Effects
of Long Term Sentencing
August 6, 2008, Wednesday 7:00PM.
600 South Michigan Avenue
Hosted by Cliff Kelly of WVON Radio
TY10 Photos
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PRESS ABOUT TAMMS C-MAX
'Move mentally ill from Supermax'
Malcolm Young, Chicago Daily Herald, 5/31/08
'Tamms reforms on the way?'
Mick Dumke, Clout City - Chicago Reader, 5/30/08
'Is this prison too tough?'
Frank Mann, Chicago Sun-Times, 5/26/08
'Lawmakers, ex-inmates announce reform proposal for Tamms Correctional Center'
Vikki Ortiz, Chicago Tribune, 5/25/08
'Hell in a Cell'
Jeffery Felshman, Chicago Reader, 4/24/08
'Torture in Our Own Backyards: The Fight Against Supermax Prisons'
Jessica Pupovac, Alternet, 3/24/08
'Life at Tamms Supermax Prison',
Shannon Heffernan, Chicago Public Radio, 3/11/08
'Tamms Year Ten calls for end to torture',
Abby Lerner, The Daily Northwestern, 3/6/08
'The Supermax Solution',
Regan Good, The Nation, 2/13/03
'Nothing Left to Lose',
Bruce Rushton, St. Louis Riverfront Times, 5/10/00
'Cruel and Usual',
Bruce Rushton, St. Louis Riverfront Times, 2/16/00
'Blooper Max',
Bruce Rushton, Riverfront Times, 8/29/01
RELATED PRESS
'No Exit'
By Jamie Fellner and Sasha Abramsky
Published in The American Prospect
January 8, 2004
ALLIES
8th Day Center for Justice
American Friends Service
Committee–Chicago
Anti Gravity Surprise
Black People Against Police Torture
Campaign to End the Death Penalty
Champaign-Urbana Citizens for Peace and Justice
Cheap Art for Freedom (CAFF)
Chicago County Fair
Chicagoland Coalition for Civil Liberties
and Rights (CCCLR)
Citizens For Earned Release
Critical Resistance Chicago
Crossroads Fund
Education Justice Project,
Urbana-Champaign
F.A.I.T.H., Inc
Feel Tank Chicago
Illinois Institute for Community Law
Insight Arts
Justice Coalition of Greater Chicago
José E. López, Executive Director, Juan
Antonio Corretjer Puerto Rican
Cultural Center
Rev. B. Herbert Martin, The People's
Church
Men and Women in Prison Ministries
National Boricua Human Rights
Network
Midwest Books to Prisoners (MWBTP)
National Alliance Against Racist &
Political Repression–Chicago
National Lawyers Guild-Chicago
Progressive Community Center, The
People's Church
Saving Our Sons Ministries
Saints of Humboldt Park
Sewing Rebellion
Stateville Speaks
STOPMAX/AFSC
Raising Awareness to Inspire
Others (RATIO)
Tamms Committee
Tamms Poetry Committee
Temporary Services
Urbana-Champaign Books to
Prisoners
Voices for Creative Non-Violence
Waukegan Coalition to Reduce
Recidivism
Tamms Year Ten acknowledges the generous support of the Crossroads Fund and the Illinois Institute for Community Law.