Cori Bush Visits St. Louis Jail, Says She’s Gathering Info

This time, the congresswoman visited with Aldermanic President Megan Green

Sep 8, 2023 at 3:28 pm

RYAN KRULL

U.S. Representative Cori Bush outside the city jail on September 8, 2023.

This morning, U.S. Representative Cori Bush (D-St. Louis) toured the troubled City Justice Center in downtown St. Louis. The jail has been the subject of alarming headlines in recent weeks, as two detainees died there last month and an increasingly pitched battle is playing out between city leaders and the civilian board tasked with providing oversight of the facility.

Bush arrived at the facility around 10 a.m. and left a little before 11:30.

“Today I visited the City Justice Center to investigate the conditions for myself and hear directly from both detainees and staff," Bush said in a statement after the visit. She added that her office has been in close communication with activists, elected officials and community leaders, as well as jail detainees.

"We will continue to do so as we gather further information," said Bush. "Ultimately my focus is on upholding the safety, dignity and humanity of every single person at the justice center.”

Bush's visit to the jail echoes back to April 2021 when Bush visited both the City Justice Center and the now-shuttered Medium Security Institution, more commonly known as the Workhouse. Bush made those visits with Mayor Tishaura Jones and then-Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner in the wake of two riots at the jail downtown and amid alarming reports about the conditions of detainees in the Workhouse. Activists at the time were calling for the Workhouse to be closed and the justice center to be reformed.

The last detainees left the Workhouse last year. The city is currently determining what to do with the shuttered facility and the acreage it sits on. Now Jones is no longer newly elected and trying to fix someone else’s problem — her appointee is the one in charge.

And in the wake of a hostage situation last month, which may have been yet another riot, fresh concerns have been raised about the conditions there among activists, attorneys and detainee families.

An attorney who was in the jail this past week meeting with a client tells the RFT that they were told inmates are currently in 24-hour lockdown with no access to the commissary or phones, and showers only once a week. "People are getting maced regularly," this attorney was told.

On this morning's visit to the jail, Bush was accompanied by St. Louis Board of Aldermen President Megan Green.

Last Friday, Green sided with the civilian oversight board in calling for the mayor to fire Corrections Commissioner Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah. Action St. Louis, ArchCity Defenders and numerous other activist organizations are also calling for Clemons-Abdullah to be ousted.

Jones previously told the RFT she has confidence in Clemons-Abdullah, citing her accomplishments overseeing new construction projects at the jail as well as improved food service and expanded educational programming.