Bloomington council’s Carrillo blocks traffic as protesters rally outside county jail

Posted on August 4, 2020
Ward 6 council member Jenn Carrillo used her car to block traffic near the corner of Madison and Olive. (Photo courtesy: Heart of Illinois ABC)

By Heart of Illinois ABC

BLOOMINGTON – About 100 demonstrators rallied Monday evening outside the McLean County Jail, and a Bloomington city council member was more than just a spectator.

Ward 6 council member Jenn Carrillo used her car to block traffic near the corner of Madison and Olive. That’s where protesters called for the release of non-violent inmates awaiting trial so they’re no longer exposed to a COVID-19 outbreak at the jail.

Carrillo said McLean County Sheriff’s Police ticketed her for blocking traffic. She said her action was necessary for protesters’ safety. Carrillo referred to a previous march at the jail on June 1 when a Bloomington man allegedly drove his motorcycle through a crowd of demonstrators and was charged with hate crimes. Two people were hurt, and of them was hospitalized.

Carrillo criticized sheriff’s police for not providing traffic control Monday night to protect the demonstrators.

“I brought my car up to make sure no motorcycle and no motorist was going to plow through this crowd, which has happened in Champaign and here. Instead of saying “Oh, we’ll take care of that, Alderwoman, get out of the way,” they decided to ticket me,” Carrillo told our news partner Heart of Illinois ABC.

The latest rally happened on the same day McLean County Sheriff Jon Sandage confirmed two more inmates and two employees tested positive for the COVID-19 infection, bringing the total number of cases there to five.

The local chapter of Black Lives Matter and Next Gen Initiative organized Monday evening’s event. They said the jail is unsafe because of the virus outbreak, and inmates who can’t afford to post bail have stay there.

“In Illinois there are people who have already died from COVID in jail and we don’t want that to happen here in McLean County,” explained organizer Olivia Butts.

They’re also demanding the sheriff and the county board stop charging inmates and their families for video and phone conferences that replaced in-person visitation.

Heart of Illinois ABC can be reached at [email protected]. 

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…