Attention all IPT Members:

[Dazzler]

I'm sure if the situation warrants it we will have plenty of legal representation.  We're going to start by appealing to the IDOC Director and the Governor and the PUBLIC.  We have several friendly state legislators we will approach after we draft some legislation.  This may be a combination of litagation and legislation before it's all over.  We need to make noise, we need to shut down some switchboards again...anything and everything that's possible to bring this to everyone's attention. 

Gov. Spitzer was appalled when it was brought to his attention in New York....let's see if Blago is....

With the history our State and IDOC already have of insider payoffs I wouldn't be a bit surprised if we don't uncover something really rotten...the former IDOC director, Snyder, is already under federal indictment for taking bribes for contracting the Medical Services for our inmates.

I think we need to start collecting BILLS...CONSOLIDATED BILLS....you can just blacken out your name and phone number if anyone is worried about it....

Those who haven't signed the online petiton need to do so and leave their comments.  The link is in another thread in this forum.  Also...download a paper petition and get your friends, families, co-workers to sign these petitions.  One in every four Illinoisans are affected by someone being incarcerated in the IDOC or a County Jail.  That's a staggering number but it shows what support is available from people we might not even think are affected.

 

[Scout]

Surprisingly I'm able to access from work...that was stopped a few weeks back.  Today I updated my Internet Explorer and here I am. :)

Anyway...I've converted the contract to PDF and have attached it here.

[Dazzler]

I've been calling the contact persons involved with this contract...one seems to no longer be with Consolidated and the State representative's number 'is being check for trouble'.....got that right....

[downtownchicago]

I'm looking at the appeals court decision for that prior phone lawsuit, Arsberry v. State of Illinois, and the opinion IMHO tells us what we need to do.  Here are excerpts.

A customer or competitor can challenge the tariff before the agency itself, and if disappointed with the agency's response can seek judicial review, 47 U.S.C. sec.sec. 204(a) (2)(C), 402, but it cannot ask the court in any other type of suit (such as this civil rights and antitrust suit) to invalidate or modify the tariff. Nor can it seek damages based on the difference between the actual tariff and a hypothetical lawful tariff. That would require the court to determine the lawful tariff, and this is not regarded as a proper judicial function.


By what combination of taxes and user charges the state covers the expense of prisons is hardly an issue for the federal courts to resolve.


But here the fact that it is not a tax but a tariffed rate bites. A claim of discriminatory tariffed telephone rates is precisely the kind of claim that is within the primary jurisdiction of the telephone regulators. The plaintiffs are asking us to compare the rates on inmate calls with rates on comparable calls of other persons; that is what we cannot do but the regulatory agencies can.


I think we need to file a complaint with the FCC.  Has this ever been done ?   We need to complain only about the excessively high rates "and if disappointed with the agency's response can seek judicial review".   Does everyone else agree ? 

[Dazzler]

Yes, DTC we're familiar with the old ruling.  Scout was an original party to this suit.  It was filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights, same people working with us now.  I believe Bobby Rush is working on the FCC with his federal proposed legislation...which doesn't seem to moving btw.

It's probably going to be necessary for us to involve CUB...Citizens Utility Board in our campaign.   Right now we need to get some type of attention to the outrageous bills...and hopefully some legislation drafted that would forbid the IDOC from taking kickbacks...this is what Gov. Spitzer did in New York.  The profits from the outrageous rates we are paying are being turned over to the DOC as perks....

[Scout]

I also have information about the tarriff rates, ironically I found two, one for Illinois in general (which includes collect calls from correctional institutions) and one just for Illinois collect call from correctional institutions (I'm assuming contractual).  I'll post those later today.

[ielene]

As far as signatures go can we circulate a petition over the net?

[downtownchicago]

Scout, funny that you posted about the rates because I too just found some docs on Consolidated's web site and I posted info in the main Phone Service thread.  Why are we not allowed the pre-paid $2.50 for first 15 minutes and $2.50 for additional 15 minutes rate ?????????????

There are several rate plans, three collect call plans and one pre-paid plan.  Who determines which plan is in effect ?  Does Consolidated offer all plans to all customers ?  Or does IDOC pick the plan ????   I was never offered anything other than the Rate Plan #1 collect call scheme.

[Dazzler]

Ielene, our petition is online and it has been for about a year now.  The link to the ipetition page is in the forum also.  Last time I looked we had 594 signatures....and not all of them are from IPT members....many are just the public who think it is also outrageous...

[ielene]

Sorry, what I ment was through e-mails.

[downtownchicago]

Dazzler and others, take a look at this document from Consolidated which maps out the Illinois services and rates.

http://consolidated.com/docs/illinois.pdf

Check out the section starting on page 39, regarding pre-paid calls.  The rates are on page 41.  Regardless of where you are in Illinois, it's $2.50 for the first 15 minutes and $2.50 for each additional 15 minutes, so $5 for a 30 minute phone call.

The doc has no mention of where or why this plan is available, the wording implies that it's customer discretion.  I tried calling Consolidated but kept getting the answering service, we all know that routine !  I could be on the phone for hours.

Does anyone understand why we are not being offered this plan ?

[Dazzler]

I'm not sure you can sign a petition through an email...the petition text would have to be sent in that email...it might be a hassle...but someone could give you permission to sign the online petition for them...that would be okay....or you can transfer signatures from paper petitions to the online petition also. 

[downtownchicago]

I submitted a question to Consolidated Public Services via their online contact page, and I just got a call back !  That was fast !

The representative explained to me that CPS offers several different rate plans, but it's up to IDOC to choose which ones it wants to subscribe to.

I didn't refer to the actual rate plan names with the representative but I can tell by my charges that IDOC uses the Inmate Collect With Controls Rate Plan #1 for Illinois-Illinois calls.  The  representative said that the pre-paid plan available to customers is the same cost.  So apparently the pre-paid plan is not the Prepaid Institutional Calling Services plan referred to in the document, which would be only $5 for a 30 minute call within Illinois.

Consolidated offers 4 rate plans for Illinois-Illinois inmate calls.  IDOC has selected the 2nd most expensive plan.  How do they have the authority to do that ?  And who pockets the extra money ?  Obviously IDOC gets some.  What prevents them from switching to the most expensive plan ? 

[downtownchicago]

You know what we need to do, don't you.  Boycott.

What would happen if we all pledged to not use the phones for an entire 30-, 60-, or 90-day period.

I realize that we will all be greatly inconvenienced if not psychologically traumatized by this.  But we still have mail and visits.

I have to talk to my guy about this but I think he and I would be willing to participate in a boycott.

[WAID]

That is a big chunk of change. Now, I hate when I do this, but I always TRY to look at the big picture.
IDOC's annual budget is aproximately $1.2 Billion dollars
Consolidated commision payment is $13.5 Million
It's a gouge to us yes, if we do stop it & they lose 13.5 million per year, have no doubt somethings gotta give. We all know how fast legislation goes through to reduce sentence guidelines, so before that happens, here's some scenario's to think about. I can't even tell ya how bad medical is right now, if they cut budgets there some will surely lose their lives or suffer a great deal more, cutting of staff would mean 23/7 lockdowns, very limited visiting priveledges, no more state paid recidivism programs, closing of some prisons & overcrowding of others, think tents outside in 100 or 5 below degree temperatures. It will get worse before we tackle the next item on the chopping block that we don't like.

I certainly would like to have more money in my pocket, but not at my incarcerated loves ones expense, nor for the inmates that follow in this wake. I have no doubt our combined voices are a force that will be heard, but are we prepared for the consequences? Dazz, if you say this a bigger than the New York scenario, do you know of any fallout or have data from them changing systems & loss of income for that state's DOC affected it's prisoners?

[Scout]

There was a boycott at some point, I found it when I was researching Consolidated last night...I want to say that somehow the inmates got punished for it, let me see if I can come across that again.

The only problem with that DTC is coordinating it...we're a large group, but small in comparison to the actual number of inmate family members.

[Dazzler]

Well WAID, then maybe the wardens and the staff need to take paycuts....why should inmate families be responsible to balance their stinking budget?  There's money available....plenty of money available in the State budget...don't believe what you read...

When an inmate is incarcerated he becomes property of the State of Illinois and the State cannot expect his family to support his incarceration or be punished because the State can't or doesn't want to fulfill it's responsibility. 

[Mrs.Mitros]

Are you talking about the people that live in the State of Ill or people that lives out of the state?

I live in Alaska. I never had a rate plan for calls .. 

[Dazzler]

I don't know what Downtownchicago is talking about.   There's one rate plan for everyone in Illinois and one rate plan for out-of-staters.  Customers aren't allowed to pick whatever rate plan they want.  I'm sure those are plans that are offered to different Departments of Correction.  There are many County jails in the state also.  In Illinois it's all the same for everyone...you pay what Consolidated bills you....

[Mrs.Mitros]

I don't get a bill from consolidated ...  I never got any rate plans.