State’s new prison health care provider has poor history

Good morning, Chicago. ✶

🔎 Below: A Sun-Times review of more than 100 lawsuits against Illinois’ new prison health care provider shows a recurring pattern — people in prison repeatedly complain about a health issue, they are ignored by correctional and medical staff, and their condition worsens to dangerous complications or death.

🗞️ Plus: A musician returns to perform at the jail where he once was held, a Little Village procession lifts spirits and more news you need to know.

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⏱️: An 8-minute read

TODAY’S WEATHER 🌨️

Rain and snow showers with a high near 35. Snow is also expected Thursday evening and Saturday morning.

TODAY’S TOP STORY 🔎

Illinois’ new prison health care provider has a history of poor care, records show

By Kaitlin Washburn

New provider: Substandard medical care has caused preventable harm — and even death — to people locked up in American prisons and jails. That care is often provided by private, for-profit companies. Among them is Centurion Health, the provider with which Illinois recently inked a deal to deliver medical care to people housed in every state prison.

Troubled history: Centurion came to the state with a track record of providing inadequate health care, according to a Sun-Times review of more than 100 lawsuits, a U.S. Department of Justice investigation, state audit reports and news articles.

Indifference accusations: Lawsuits from multiple states document several cases in which people in prison say they were repeatedly ignored, denied care, misdiagnosed or left to die. They allege Centurion — through its policies, procedures and actions — was deliberately indifferent to their health needs, both routine and emergent. They also allege their treatment is unconstitutional. Centurion did not respond to requests for comment.

Key context: Over the summer, Centurion replaced the state’s previous private health care provider, Wexford Health Sources, which also faces regular accusations of providing poor care, neglecting patients’ needs and allowing preventable deaths to happen on its watch.

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POLITICS ✶

• CTA fray: Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson pushed back Tuesday against the Trump administration’s threat to cut off federal transit funding unless the Democratic leaders “take immediate action” to bolster CTA security. Pritker said “action has been taken,” citing transit reform legislation passed in October that includes a law enforcement task force, plus a new Office of Transit Safety and transit ambassador program.
• ‘ICE out’ legislation: Also on Tuesday, Pritzker signed legislation that bars civil immigration arrests from being made in or near courthouses, and gives residents more leeway to sue federal agents over alleged civil rights violations.
• Map moves: And Pritzker declared Illinois Democrats are “ready to stand up” and gerrymander a new congressional map if Indiana Republicans follow through with a redistricting plan ordered by President Donald Trump.
• Chicagoan testifies: Dayanne Figueroa, a U.S. citizen who was dragged from her SUV by masked federal immigration agents in West Town, testified Tuesday before a congressional public forum in Washington that she has experienced panic attacks and daily nightmares after being held in custody.
• Questions answered: Last week, Sun-Times reporters and the r/chicago subreddit held an Ask Me Anything, or AMA, on federal immigration enforcement in the Chicago area. We’ve compiled some Reddit users’ questions and our answers.

MORE NEWS YOU NEED ✶

• Border officer indicted: Federal prosecutors in Chicago say Luis Uribe, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, in 2022 committed multiple “gunpoint sexual assaults” of four women who offered him money and referenced their children as they begged him to stop.
• Mercy for Madigan?: Ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has asked President Trump for a pardon, Department of Justice records show. Madigan is currently serving a 7.5-year prison sentence after a bribery conviction.
• Remembering Andrea Hanis: From her first job at the Sun-Times, Ms. Hanis took on editor roles at the Tribune and Crain’s Chicago Business. Her last job was as editor of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, bringing energy and creativity to her assignments. She died Nov. 12 at age 56.
• Obama reads to kids: Sporting a Santa hat, former President Barack Obama surprised a group of schoolchildren Tuesday, making a stop at the Bessie Coleman branch of the Chicago Public Library in Woodlawn during a visit to tour the nearly finished Obama Presidential Center.
• Shakespeare reviews: “The Taming of the Shrew” and “Much Ado About Nothing” are each difficult shows to stage in the modern day — and two directors confronted the challenges in divergent ways, writes Steven Oxman in a review for the Sun-Times.

CHICAGO STORIES 🗞️

Musician returns to perform at the jail where he was held after drug bust

By Mark Guarino

Back track: The first time singer-songwriter Michael McDermott walked through the gates of Cook County Jail was Nov. 23, 2002, after being arrested at the House of Blues for cocaine possession. He returned this week in a different capacity: Musician.

Key context: Up to his arrest, McDermott, who grew up in Orland Park, lived a high-risk life balancing a successful musical career with a raging drug and alcohol addiction. He was recording for major labels, appearing on MTV and performing on television while smoking crack cocaine and experiencing close calls with law enforcement. He would get sober 12 years later.

‘Traumatic’ return: Despite living a different life today that includes being a husband and parent, McDermott said the prospect of returning to Cook County Jail to play music, which he did for the first time last year, was “traumatic.” On Monday, McDermott relayed those feelings to an audience of 100 incarcerated men who did not know him or his music.

The scene: McDermott walked onstage with a guitar and introduced himself. The room was bubbling with energy — the men talking, laughing among themselves. Then, when McDermott told them he was once a detainee himself, the room fell silent. What followed was a series of original songs that documented the drug-fueled chaos of his early life.

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WATCH: MUSICIAN PERFORMS FOR DETAINEES ▶️

Singer-songwriter Michael McDermott performs at Cook County Jail for detainees Monday. | Zubaer Khan/Sun-Times

RELIGION 🙏

Little Village procession brings spirits cast down by federal deportation blitz ‘a little closer to God’

By Mohammad Samra

Mini-pilgrimage: Hundreds of Catholics took part in a procession down 26th Street in Little Village on Tuesday, marking the beginning of Our Lady of Guadalupe festivities. The mini-pilgrimage — which mirrors larger-scale celebrations happening in Des Plaines and Mexico City — ended with a Mass at Good Shepherd Church, 2735 S. Kolin Ave.

Season reason: Tuesday marked the Feast Day of St. Juan Diego, which is when believers hold that the Virgin Mary first appeared to the saint in 1531 on Tepeyac Hill in modern-day Mexico City. The celebration, one of the most popular religious devotions in Mexican and American life, culminates Friday with the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Key context: The event offered a moment of celebration in one of the communities deeply impacted by the federal Operation Midway Blitz, which wound down in November after resulting in roughly 1,800 immigration-related arrests.

‘Support each other’: “It’s been very difficult the last few months on a lot of our families,” said Scott Ernst, 44, principal at Epiphany Catholic School, where the procession began. “Our families continually come together [and] support each other. You can see the joy in the parents’ faces.”

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FROM THE PRESS BOX 🏈🏒🏀⚾

• Coach confidence: Ben Johnson’s refusal to be timid makes him a different animal from some Bears coaches before him, writes Mark Potash.
• Rinzel down to AHL: The Blackhawks are hoping Sam Rinzel can get his “swagger” back in the AHL.
• Soul searching: The Bulls are searching for some sort of return to their early-season success.
• Lucky Sox?: The White Sox say they feel like this is “our time” after winning the 2026 draft lottery. They’ll pick for the first time since 1977.
• Boys basketball: Lincoln coach Neil Alexander, in his 49th season, is closing in on Gene Pingatore’s all-time wins record.

CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD 🌭

PLAY NOW

BRIGHT ONE 🔆

This year’s cookbooks to try — or to avoid

By Sun-Times and WBEZ staff

Of the hundreds of cookbooks published in a given year, which one is worth buying?

After all, so many of us turn first to Google or social media when struck with the impulse to make a meal.

And yet the printed, hardcover cookbook retains its appeal: The photography, the neatly formatted recipes and the author’s voice all contribute to inspiration that becomes motivation.

We faced the long list of cookbooks published in 2025 and selected nine titles that piqued our interest and represented a diversity of cuisines.

Then, we cooked. (And shook — one book is cocktail recipes.)

Each staffer tested up to five recipes from their assigned book and took copious notes on clarity of instructions, difficulty, accuracy of measures and cook times, and whether the dish was worth the effort. And, finally, each reviewer levied a judgment: Is this cookbook recommended?

Just in time for gift-giving season, we’ve compiled our results in one place. 🧑‍🍳

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DAILY QUESTION ☕️

For the last couple of years, Chicago’s winters have been mild — a contrast to the at-times brutal season lifelong and longtime Chicagoans know well.

So we want to know: If you’re relatively new to Chicago or an old-timer, how are you feeling about winters now?

Email us with your answer (please include your first and last name). We may run your answers in Thursday’s Morning Edition newsletter.

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Written and curated by: Matt Moore
Editor: Eydie Cubarrubia

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