Lack of communication - in any situation - is usually a deathblow, whether in a marriage, a military mission or a bureaucracy. At ISCC, the communications breakdown of late between staff and prisoners is creating havoc, but there are ways to open channels of effective communication between prisoners and staff in an effort to help them help us.
Over the past couple weeks for example, I have made suggestions to IDOC administrators for actions/items which would allow the lock down of the IDOC facilities go a bit smoother for the affected prisoners. I have strived to make these suggestions reasonable, and to make them in a positive manner. It works. In one case, I asked if there were something that could be done about the quality of the food being served in the Styrofoam trays. In another instance I asked why the Morale Packages promised to us by the IDOC Director went undelivered for weeks after they were to have been delivered, and I even went as far as to ask the IDOC Director to cause Keefe to lower the price on the new Sega game systems before they started selling them. There are other requests/suggestions pending a response, but granted or not, they have made their way to the top.
Not every request was met with an immediate change. Change does take time in most instances, and that is true especially in [prison] food service, but a change in the (mainline) menu was made almost immediately to address the condensation and associated problems in the styrofoam trays, and as Director Tewalt mentioned in an email, plastic trays will soon be made available to replace styros where needed.
The Morale Packages were weeks late and I could get no real answer from ISCC staff despite my concern forms being passed from staff to staff. I brought it to the attention of Central Office, and within 2 days, the packages were delivered at ISCC on 7/14/20.
Sega game systems. When the IDOC Director brought up the fact that the game system was being rolled out earlier than expected so as to help prisoners cope with the lockdown situation (Message from the Director - July 10, 2020) I had family/friends look the system up online and verified the significant mark-up by Keefe Commissary, which obviously flies in the face of the efforts of administrators to ease the stress and monotony of secure status, (what good is selling them if we can't afford them?) so I sent the following suggestion (in addition to others) to the Director:
"Cause Keefe to reduce the (outrageous) price of the new Sega Genesis mini game system from $175.00 (plus tax) to something more reasonable (exact same system is available from genesis.mini.sega.com (manufacturer) for $79.99, and from Amazon.com for $58.99 with free shipping). Any units purchased at the current price from Keefe (before the price is reduced) should be reimbursed the overpaid amount."
Within 2 days of the Director receiving this data, he was able to cause Keefe to reduce the selling price from $175 to $95 - a savings of $80.
While not all your requests are likely to be personally addressed by the Director of the IDOC, here are some hints on sending suggestions to the administration which will increase the chances they will be considered:
> Address the request/suggestion to a low ranking administrator of the area who has authority to make the change requested (they can send it up/down the line with recommendations).
> Make sure the request/suggestion is reasonable and realistic in the prison setting.
> Support your request/suggestion with logic.
> Keep the request/suggestion short, and to the point.
> Put only one request/suggestion per Concern form. Print clearly.
> Make sure the request/suggestion will benefit most everyone, not just yourself.
There are several instances where administrators are in fact heeding the call and suggestions of the prisoner populations and their families, but reality must be kept in focus. This is still a prison, and there are security concerns that sometimes we as prisoners do not see, but we do see a lot of problems they don't realize are big problems to us, and if we can share what we know as prisoners of those systemic problems with those who can make positive changes, just maybe some of those problems can be addressed and fixed now, and for long after the COVID-19 pandemic has passed.
It doesn't hurt to try - and Concern Forms are free. |
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