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More than 100 former Illinois youth inmates sue state over alleged sexual abuse in detention centers

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More than 100 former Illinois youth inmates sue state over alleged sexual abuse in detention centers
  • Dozens of former youth inmates have filed lawsuits seeking millions in damages for sexual abuse allegedly endured at Illinois detention centers.
  • Thirteen women and 95 men filed two lawsuits against the Illinois Department of Corrections and Department of Juvenile Justice.
  • The lawsuits contain allegations that employees at various juvenile detention centers sexually assaulted inmates between 1997 and 2013.

Dozens more former youth inmates filed lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in damages for sexual abuse they allegedly endured at Illinois detention centers dating back to the late 1990s.

Thirteen women and 95 men filed two separate lawsuits on Friday in the Illinois Court of Claims against the state Department of Corrections and the state Department of Juvenile Justice. Each plaintiff is seeking $2 million in damages, the most allowed under law.

The filings are packed with disturbing allegations that guards, teachers and counselors at multiple juvenile detention centers around the state sexually assaulted inmates between 1997 and 2013. Often the same perpetrators would assault the same children for months, sometimes offering to shorten their sentences or giving them snacks or extra free time in exchange for their silence, according to the lawsuits.

SURVIVORS OF ALLEGED CHILD SEX ABUSE IN ILLINOIS DETENTION CENTERS SPEAK UP

There was no immediate reply Monday morning to an email seeking comment from two state agencies.

The office building at 100 North Western Avenue is shown on May 6, 2024, in Chicago, where an office of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice is located. Dozens more former youth inmates filed lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in damages for sexual abuse they allegedly endured at Illinois detention centers dating back to the late 1990s. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

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One female plaintiff alleged she was 15 years old when she was housed at a detention center in Warrenville in 2012. A guard groped her under her clothes and on another occasion attempted to rape her in a shower area. The guard said he would put her in solitary confinement if she told anyone. The woman went on to allege that another guard sexually assaulted her in a bathroom and then gave her a Butterfinger candy bar.

A male plaintiff alleged he was 13 years old when he was housed at a detention center in St. Charles in 1997. Two guards gave him food, extra time outside his cell and extra television time as a reward for engaging in sex with them, he alleged. When he reported the abuse, the guards locked him inside his cell as punishment, he said. The plaintiff said he was transferred to two other detention centers in Warrenville and Valley View. Guards at those centers groped him as well.

The lawsuits note that a 2013 U.S. Department of Justice survey of incarcerated youth found Illinois was among the four worst states nationwide for sexual abuse in detention facilities.

The former youth inmates’ attorneys have filed similar lawsuits around the country.

Last month, they sued on behalf of 95 other former youth inmates who allege they were sexually abused at Illinois juvenile detention centers between 1997 and 2017. Each of those plaintiffs is seeking $2 million as well. The state Department of Justice said in a statement in response to that lawsuit that those alleged incidents took place under former department leaders. The current administration takes youth safety seriously and all allegations of staff misconduct are investigated by other agencies, including the state police, the department said.

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The three Illinois lawsuits bring the total number of plaintiffs to more than 200.

“It’s time for the State of Illinois to accept responsibility for the systemic sexual abuse of children at Illinois Youth Centers,” one of the former inmates’ attorneys, Jerome Block, said.

The inmates’ attorneys also filed an action in Pennsylvania in May alleging 66 people who are now adults were victimized by guards, nurses and supervisors in that state’s juvenile detention system. The Illinois and Pennsylvania lawsuits follow other actions in Maryland, Michigan and New York City.

Some cases have gone to trial or resulted in settlements but arrests have been infrequent.

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In New Hampshire, more than 1,100 former residents of the state’s youth detention center have filed lawsuits since 2020 alleging physical or sexual abuse spanning six decades. The first lawsuit went to trial last month, and a jury awarded the plaintiff $38 million, though the amount remains disputed. Eleven former state workers have been arrested, and more than 100 more are named in the lawsuits.

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Illinois

Stark County relay wins state title, leading Western Illinois girls track results

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Stark County relay wins state title, leading Western Illinois girls track results


The IHSA state girls track meet was held Thursday through Saturday, May 21-23, at Eastern Illinois University, with championships handed out on the final day of the meet in all three classes of competition.

Several schools in Western Illinois had strong finishes to the season, and the Stark County 4×800-meter relay leads the way back with a first-place finish.

The Rebels had the top time in the preliminaries and backed that up with a rally in the final leg to win the Class 1A title. Anchor leg Dusti Smith ran an eye-popping 2:10.44 over the final two laps to give Stark County the title. Her split was by far the fastest of anyone in the field, nearly five seconds better than the last leg of Shelbyville’s Tessa Bowers, whose team finished third.

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Several other athletes had runner-up finishes, and Galesburg High placed in three relays.

In 1A, Sherrard had the area’s best team score, finishing seventh with 26 points. Galesburg got 17 points in 2A to tie for 17th place.

Here’s a look at all the top 10s for Western Illinois, including notes on season best (SB) and personal best (PB) times, noted by athletic.net.

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Class 1A local results

800

6. Cheyenh Smith, Sr., Stark County, 2:16.79

7. Emily Downing, Sr., Ridgewood, 2:17.86 (SB)

8. Anna Churchill, Jr., Sherrard, 2:18.33 (PB)

1600

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7. Dusti Smith, Jr., Stark County, 5:04.70

10. Emily Downing, Sr., Ridgewood, 5:08.03 (SB)

3200

3. Emily King, Sr., Knoxville, 10:59.20 (PB)

8. Jana Vande Kemp, Jr., Ridgewood, 11:12.81 (PB)

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10. Alyssa Higgins, Sr., Knoxville, 11:17.71 (PB)

100 Hurdles

5. Marryn Ferguson, Fr., Bushnell-Prairie City, 15.40

300 Hurdles

7. Alayna Mitchell, Jr., Mercer County, 45.58 (PB)

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4×400 Relay

6. Sherrard, 4:06.34 (Cami Anderson, Sophia Bradarich, Piper Russell, Anna Churchill)

4×800 Relay

1. Stark County, 9:24.77 (Cheyenh Smith, Norah Rorem, Paytin Terwilliger, Dusti Smith)

6. Mercer County, 9:47.26 (Emalyn Millar, Brookelyn Clark, Jorgi Arnold, Helen Baldwin)

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10. Ridgewood, 9:57.64 (Jolene Blackert, Hannah Ames, Jana Vande Kemp, Emily Downing)

Discus

2. Saidie Shemek, Sr., Sherrard, 40.73m

4. Ellie Doubet, Sr., Ridgewood, 40.36m (PB)

Pole Vault

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2. Aliza Dominique, Sr., Sherrard, 3.30m (SB)

T5. Marryn Ferguson, Fr., Bushnell-Prairie City, 3.20m (PB)

T5. Khloe Kunz, Fr., Sherrard, 3.20m (PB)

Long Jump

10. Grace Grothaus, Jr., West Hancock, 5.09m

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Triple Jump

2. Grace Grothaus, Jr., West Hancock, 11.14m

Class 2A Local Results

3200

8. Brooklyn Smith, Jr., Geneseo, 11:06.88

4×100 Relay

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7. Galesburg, 49.06 (Ella Herchenroder, Rachelle McCellan, Taylor Herchenroder, Ava Marty)

4×200 Relay

4. Galesburg, 1:41.47 (Ella Herchenroder, Rachelle McCellan, Taylor Herchenroder, Ava Marty)

4×400 Relay

3. Galesburg, 3:57.73 (Ella Herchenroder, Grace Herchenroder, Taylor Herchenroder, Lily Furrow)

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Shot Put

5. Makaylynne Correa, Sr., Canton, 11.72m (PB)

8. Isabella Brown, Jr., Geneseo, 11.53m

Discus

7. Dakota Thorman, Sr., Macomb, 36.97m

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High Jump

4. Aubrey Holthaus, Jr., Macomb, 1.55m

Pole Vault

7. Allison Tice, Fr., Geneseo, 3.45m (PB)



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Indiana

Felix Rosenqvist wins 110th Running of Indianapolis 500 in thrilling fashion

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Felix Rosenqvist wins 110th Running of Indianapolis 500 in thrilling fashion


INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Felix Rosenqvist won the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500. Rosenqvist passed David Malukas on the final straightaway to win his first career Indianapolis 500.

After the narrow win, Rosenqvist described the out-of-body experience it was to win the Indianapolis 500 in front of over 350,000 people.

“I’m still not able to take it in,” Rosenqvist said. “I need another month or week. It’s been such a crazy month for me. That finish, man, I can’t get over that finish. It’s so unbelievable how close it was, I feel like any of the four of us could’ve won it. It just worked out perfectly.”

This year’s Indy 500 ended on a one-lap restart. The green flag waved on lap 199, and chaos ensued for the final 2.5-mile sprint.

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Marcus Armstrong opened the final lap with the lead before David Malukas passed Armstrong coming out of Turn 1. As they headed to Turn 4, Rosenqvist made his move and passed Malukas on the final straight away to mark the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history. Rosenqvist beat Malukas to the finish line by a mere 0.023 seconds.

Rosenqvist shared how much of a whirlwind the final lap was for him.

“That last lap, I just stayed flat on the outside, and I was like, at this point, I’m just going to go all in,” Rosenqvist said. “It just worked out, I had a little tow off with Dave in the last corner, and it’s enough to take me over the line. It was pretty gnarly. I’ve never tried it around here, but I did, and it worked for the whole lap. I just hung around the outside flat.”

Rosenqvist added more on how exhilarating the last lap felt.

“I think, honestly, if I replayed it a million times, it wouldn’t have ended up the same,” Rosenqvist said. “Everything was just 10 out of 10, and it’s no better feeling to win this race, like that, during a month where I had a baby sixteen days ago. Incredible.”

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This year’s Indianapolis 500 had the most lead changes in the race’s 110-year history, with 70.



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Iowa

Iowa State Basketball Won’t Be Impacted by NCAA Player Eligibility Requirements

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Iowa State Basketball Won’t Be Impacted by NCAA Player Eligibility Requirements


The Iowa State Cyclones had to undergo some major changes with their men’s basketball roster this offseason.

Four key rotation players from their incredible 2025-26 team, Tamin Lipsey, Joshua Jefferson, Milan Momcilovic and Nate Heise, won’t be back with the team. However, the Cyclones were able to successfully fill those voids on the roster with five players in the transfer portal and three players in their Class of 2026.

Other programs that have spent the offseason upgrading their rosters may not be as fortunate. The new NCAA eligibility requirements could significantly alter the outlook of many teams across the country, with a particular focus on international players.

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After virtually everyone was granted eligibility to play in the 2025-26 season, rule changes came down in May that will impact several programs. Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated named a few players who may no longer be eligible to participate in the 2026-27 season: Quinn Ellis (St. John’s Red Storm), Saliou Niang (LSU Tigers), Márcio Santos (LSU Tigers) and Mantas Rubštavičius (Auburn Tigers).

NCAA eligiblity rules will have major impact on men’s college basketball

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Apr 2, 2026; Phoenix, AZ, USA; A Wilson Evo NXT basketball with the 2026 NCAA Women’s Final Four logo on the court at Mortgage Matchup Center. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Some Iowa State fans will see that and wonder how this could impact players on their team. Head coach T.J. Otzelberger has done a great job with international recruiting in recent years, unearthing gems such as Killyan Toure and Dominykas Pleta in the Class of 2026.

In the Class of 2026, one of Toure’s former teammates, big man Dorian Rinaldo-Komlan, committed to the Cyclones.

Luckily for Iowa State, none of those players are going to be impacted by the new eligibility rules and should maintain their ability to suit up for the Cyclones during the 2026-27 campaign.

Toure played high school basketball at Brewster Academy before coming to Ames. Rinaldo-Komlan is currently with SPIRE Academy. Pleta played in the Porsche Ludwigsburg, which has a professional-level team, but he was with the academy team, which is the equivalent of high school basketball.

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Cyclones won’t be impacted by eligibility rule changes

Mar 27, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Killyan Toure (27) moves the ball in the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers during a Sweet Sixteen game of the Midwest Regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at United Center. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
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While the rules about international players are constantly changing, all of the players who have come from overseas who are with Iowa State should remain eligible. The focus of the new rules is on players who have professional experience internationally and are older prospects.

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That isn’t an area of recruiting that Otzelberger has had to turn to during his tenure with the Cyclones, and thankfully so. He has excelled in finding high school players and anyone in the transfer portal who fit into the game plan they are looking to execute with a focus on defensive intensity.

Iowa State can proceed as they have been, knowing they won’t be losing any players to eligibility concerns because of international professional experience.

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