The ink has dried on a settlement agreement related to an inmate’s death two years ago at the DuPage County Correctional Center, and several DuPage County Board members are calling for a report on DuPage Sheriff’s Department protocols to ensure future incidents do not happen again.
The $11 million settlement is related to the June 2023 death of Reneyda Aguilar-Hurtado, 50, who was found unresponsive in her cell. She had been held at the DuPage County Correctional Center for 85 days.
‘This was a horrible situation,’ one board member says
County board member Paula Deacon Garcia, who represents District 2, was one of several elected officials who called for a report from the sheriff’s department at the Tuesday, May 27, meeting.
“This was a horrible situation that happened in the sheriff’s office,” Deacon Garcia said. “I know, here on our county board, public safety is one of our No. 1 concerns.”
Deacon Garcia added, “If we have someone coming into our correctional center, and they’re not coming out in good health, or something else horrible is happening, we need to find out ways so that we can actually change things. I am hoping that this has become a wake-up call.”
County board member Andrew Honig, who also represents District 2, echoed Deacon Garcia’s proposal as it was presented during the “new business” portion of the meeting agenda.
“This is truly heartbreaking,” Honig said. “I think we need some answers and some progress going forward because, at the end of the day, this cannot happen again, and we want to make sure it doesn’t.”
DuPage County settled lawsuit for $11 million with deceased’s family
Early this spring, DuPage County officials announced they had reached a settlement agreement with Aguilar-Hurtado’s family in the amount of $11 million.
As a technical matter, the board in March approved transferring $10 million from unassigned reserve cash in the County Board’s fund balance account to a public liability insurance account to help cover the cost associated with the lawsuit.
No formal action or directive was taken on Deacon Garcia and Honig’s proposals for a formal report at the May 27 meeting, though the issue could resurface at an upcoming County Board meeting.
If you have a story idea, we want to hear from you!
