IDOC local president issues urgent call for stepped-up safety

Assaults on staff have been on the rise in the Illinois Department of Corrections for years. Too often, staff have been punched, grabbed, scratched, spit on and had bodily fluids thrown at them. 

At the Council and local levels, our union has been fighting for change. But the leadership of the Department of Corrections tends to turns a blind eye to these problems. Workers feel that the department’s attitude is: “This is the job you signed up for.” 

But that’s not true. Yes, a job in a prison carries greater risk than most. But no one should have to fear being assaulted every day when they walk into work. And no one should feel like their employer doesn’t care about their safety. Yet that’s exactly how many IDOC employees feel. 

Tenielle Fitzjarrald, the president of AFSCME Local 3600 at Lawrence Correctional Center, is speaking out about a recent assault on Sgt. Jonovan Bridwell in order to call out IDOC’s lack of concern for employee safety. 

Her message (below) is clear: IDOC urgently needs leadership that cares about the safety and well-being of its employees. The time is now! 

I want to talk to you about Sergeant Bridwell. He has given more than a decade of his life to this Department, since 2011. In less than one year, he has been assaulted multiple times at our facility. He’s endured a chipped tooth, a scar on his forehead due to requiring stitches after being assaulted, an ER visit after being exposed to drugs inmates are smoking in our housing units, and just this past Friday, he was viciously headbutted and taken to the ground by an inmate. His wrist and hand were injured when they became tangled in the restraints during the attack. 

Now, he’s off work for an undetermined amount of time, trying to heal physically and mentally from something that should never be an accepted “risk of the job.”

What do we say to him? What do we say to his family? What do we say to the other staff who look at his injuries and wonder if they’re next?

This is not just about Sergeant Bridwell. His story is one of many stories that should enrage anyone who cares about the safety and wellbeing of the people who keep these facilities running. It is infuriating to watch IDOC do next to nothing to stop this violence; to see them fail again and again to send the message that our safety matters and that assaulting an officer, a sergeant, a counselor, or any employee will not be tolerated.

We know that what happens to one of us happens to all of us. These assaults don’t just leave physical wounds, they erode morale, trust, and our mental health. It gets harder every day to reassure our people that anyone in leadership cares when we see the same cycle over and over again: paperwork, excuses, blame-shifting, and no real deterrence for the next attack.

In Solidarity,

Tenielle Fitzjarrald
President
AFSCME Local 3600