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County, sheriff settle with estate of woman whose death was attributed in part to 'medical neglect'
By Jonathan Bullington
Chicago Tribune
DuPage County and county Sheriff James Mendrick have reached an $11million settlement with the estate of Reneyda Aguilar-Hurtado, a 50-year-old mother who died in June 2023 after being held in the county jail for 85 days while awaiting transfer to a state-run mental health center.
Approved by a judge last month, the settlement caps a federal lawsuit brought by Aguilar-Hurtado's daughter, Cristal Moreno Aguilar, accusing the county, Mendrick and 11 jail medical staff members or corrections officers of repeatedly failing to act as her mother's health rapidly deteriorated.
A county pathologist determined her death was due, in part, to "medical neglect."
The nearly 50-page complaint, filed a month after Aguilar-Hurtado's death, cited about a dozen examples of other jail detainees some who died while on medical watch, others who have sued the jail over health care complaints -in alleging a "widespread practice and policy of deliberate in difference to the health and safety of critically ill inmates suffering from life-threatening conditions under their custody and control."
Mendrick, who recently announced his intent to forgo a third term as sheriff and instead seek the Republican nomination for Illinois governor in 2026, declined to comment through his spokesperson. So, too, did County Board Chair Deborah Conroy.
The defendants in court filings denied any wrongdoing.
"Reneyda's tragic death never should have happened," said Michael Mead, an attorney for the family, in a statement. "It was preventable and the loss that her family experienced cannot be made whole. We hope that the settlement provides justice and some closure for her family."
The $11 million payout is more than three times the combined cost of seven lawsuits involving the sheriff's office that have been settled in the last three years, according to records obtained by the Tribune through a Freedom of Information Act request. The largest, at $2.5 million, stemmed from a deputy's fatal shooting of a 17-year-old boy in 2017 —a shooting prosecutors determined was justified.
Additionally, legal fees related to lawsuits against the sheriff's office have exceeded $550,000 in the last three years, records show.
Advocates and attorneys who work with Illinois' mental health and criminal court systems previously told the Tribune that Aguilar-Hurtado's death exposed a confluence of long-standing failures: The continued overreliance on police as first responders in a mental health crisis. The limited community-based treatment options. The scarcity of beds tied largely to staffing shortages at state mental health hospitals.
All of that has forced vulnerable people like Aguilar-Hurtado into extended confinement in county jails that are often ill-equipped to care for them. And as her story laid bare, a jail's inability - or unwillingness, as her family alleged - to protect the people in its custody can shatter lives.
"People are landing in our jails in bad shape, physically and mentally, and they are too often made worse because of the conditions in jail," Amanda Antholt, a managing attorney with the nonprofit Equip for Equality, previously told the Tribune. "That's the problem we want to get at. We want them to be treated humanely and get the care they need to not be in jail or to survive their court process without getting hurt."
Aguilar-Hurtado, the mother of two children, had been previously hospitalized for treatment of schizophrenia when she was accused in July 2022 of kicking a woman in the leg at a grocery store near her home in west suburban Addison.
She was arrested and released from custody that same day and, shortly thereafter, voluntarily entered the state-run Elgin Mental Health Center for nearly five weeks of treatment. In the six months that followed her discharge, she missed four court dates. And by March 2023, she was in DuPage County Jail on a $10,000 bond.
The next month, a judge ruled she was unfit to stand trial on two misdemeanor battery counts and ordered that she return to a state mental hospital until he and doctors were satisfied she could understand the charges against her and confer with her public defender.
She remained in jail for 85 days while waiting to be transferred. Advocates called the delay a symptom of a chronic issue driven in part by decades of mental health center closures, staffing shortages and limited community resources.
On the morning of June 12, 2023, a DuPage sheriff's deputy opened the door to cell 1-G-04 and found Aguilar-Hurtado on her mattress. A sheriff's incident report describes her as cold and unresponsive.
Medical staff at the hospital were able to revive her, a deputy coroner wrote in his report, but after she "suffered cardiac arrest several times," there was nothing more they could do. Weighing nearly 200 pounds at the time of her incarceration, she had lost close to 60 pounds while in jail.
The county's chief forensic pathologist determined Aguilar-Hurtado died of "multisystem organ failure" caused by "failure to thrive due to psychotic disorder."
"Acute esophageal necrosis, self-neglect and medical neglect contributed significantly to her death," the pathologist wrote in her report, adding that Aguilar-Hurtado arrived at the hospital with "physical signs of acute illness for days prior without significant medical intervention."
Aguilar-Hurtado is one of 13 DuPage County Jail detainees who died between January 2014 and September 2024, according to a Tribune review of to submit to the state Department of Corrections and county coroner records.
Five people whose death records were reviewed by the Tribune appear to have been on medical watch at the time of their deaths. Among them was Sebastiano Ceraulo, 21, whose Jan. 8, 2016, death resulted in a federal lawsuit settled in 2019.
Another death shares similarities to Aguilar-Hurtado's. Lance Thomas, 60, had been behind bars for nearly two months when, on June 24, 2020, a deputy noticed he did not collect his lunch tray. The deputy checked on Thomas and discovered he wasn't breathing.
A coroner's report notes that Thomas had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, had refused breakfast that morning, would not take his medications, and was "markedly thin and frail and had urinated on himself." He was supposed to have weekly weight checks but the coroner's investigator couldn't find the results.
Aguilar-Hurtado's family lawsuit also included nine other examples of jail detainees who have accused the jail of providing inadequate medical care. Most stem from alleged incidents that predate Mendrick as sheriff. Five have led to settled lawsuits.
"We believe that DuPage County has recognized the systemic failures and biases that allowed this tragedy to occur," Mead, the family's attorney, said in a statement. "We are encouraged that officials have made real and substantial changes in how they monitor and care for detainees with mental illness, with changes to training, administrative oversight, and policies and procedures for urgently transferring detainees to hospitals."
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 26, 2026 Media Contact Information: Cartwheel Emily Paisner (888) 500-2067 emily.paisner@cartwheelcare.org
$1 million grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois will help Cartwheel scale access to care in rural and underserved communities through 2028
CHICAGO — August 26, 2026 — Cartwheel Care, a telehealth mental health provider for K-12 schools, today announced plans to expand access to care for up to 100,000 students across Illinois, supported by a $1 million grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL). The additional funding builds on an existing partnership between Cartwheel and BCBSIL, following a year of strong engagement and clinical outcomes. Cartwheel currently serves 40 Illinois school districts, and the grant will help expand services further into rural and underserved communities across the state through 2028. Mental health needs among Illinois students remain high. According to data from Lurie Children’s Hospital, approximately 50% of Illinois youth (ages 2–17) have experienced worsening mental health symptoms in recent years. At the same time, access to care has not kept pace: more than 80 of Illinois’ 102 counties have no practicing child psychiatrist, and the shortage is most acute in rural areas, where families often wait months for an appointment or travel significant distances for care. Cartwheel’s telehealth model is designed to remove the access barriers rural families face, like long waitlists and the need to travel to see a provider. By partnering with schools, Cartwheel provides licensed, Illinois-based clinicians with no waitlist, accepts all major insurance plans including Medicaid, and reaches kids and families where they already are, without requiring them to find or travel to an outside provider. “Every student experiences mental health challenges differently, and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to supporting them,” said Dr. Juliana Chen, chief medical officer at Cartwheel. “Our goal is to meet students and families where they are, with practical support that helps them build skills, strengthen relationships, and feel more confident navigating challenges at school and at home. BCBSIL’s support is what allows us to bring that care to more Illinois communities.” “Supporting the health and well-being of Illinois youth is critical to building stronger communities,” said Brian Snell, president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. “The results we’ve seen through our partnership with Cartwheel demonstrate the impact that timely, accessible mental health services can have for students and families. This investment will help bring those services to even more communities across our state.” To date, four Illinois districts have received Cartwheel’s services through this grant: Steger SD 194 in Cook County and Will County, Troy CCSD 30-C in Will County, Mattoon CUSD 2 in Coles County, and Wolf Branch SD #113 in St. Clair County. In the first year of the program, more than 200 students were referred for care and completed more than 1,000 telehealth sessions. Appointments were scheduled in the same week with no waitlist. Sixty-eight percent of students served were covered by Medicaid or uninsured. Overall, 73% of students showed meaningful improvement in anxiety and depression symptoms on standard clinical screeners (GAD-7/PHQ-9). Additional districts where Cartwheel services are launching this fall include Litchfield CUSD #12, Panhandle CUSD #2, Leyden High School District #212, and Regional Office of Education #40. With the support of this grant, Cartwheel expects to expand into another 30 to 50 school districts, bringing access to care to a total of 100,000 students across Illinois. “Before this partnership, getting a student connected to care could take months,” said Jeffrey Peterson, director of student services & records at Troy CCSD 30-C. “Now our counselors can refer a student, know they’ll be seen within days, and are seeing real improvements as a result.” Through the grant, Cartwheel provides individual and family therapy, parent guidance, psychiatric evaluation and medication management, and specialized care programs for challenges like school avoidance, social media use, and intense emotions and behavior challenges. As reported in Illinois Policy, in 2025 about 25% of Illinois students missed at least 10% of the school year and this was more severe among low-income students, with 35.1% in that group chronically absent. Cartwheel’s school avoidance program delivers evidence-based care designed specifically for students struggling with school avoidance. In partnership with Cartwheel, Peoria Public Schools saw a 62% reduction in absences per student, along with decreases in suspensions and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Illinois school districts that want to learn more about this opportunity for the upcoming school year should visit: www.cartwheel.org/illinois. About Cartwheel Cartwheel is the nation’s largest and most trusted telehealth provider for K-12 schools, students, and families. Cartwheel partners with 350 school districts across 15 states to deliver comprehensive mental health services to students, families, and school staff. Founded in 2022 by educators and clinicians, Cartwheel combines evidence-based clinical care with technology to ensure every child has access to high-quality mental health support. Cartwheel accepts all major insurance plans including Medicaid and provides care at no cost to uninsured families. For more information visit: www.cartwheel.org. About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois is the largest health insurer in Illinois, serving nine million members and operating in all 102 Illinois counties. BCBSIL is a division of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company and an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Learn more at bcbsil.com and follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 24, 2026 Media Contact Information: Mather Institute Cindy Droog, president, Sabo PR (616) 717-8654 cindy@sabo-pr.com
Free online tool by Mather Institute supports local planning, partnership and investments
EVANSTON, Illinois – Chicago has a new tool to help understand where neighborhood conditions support social wellness among older adults – and where thoughtful investment and partnership may expand opportunities. Mather Institute launched a first-of-its-kind free Social Wellness Map, which scores the 77 community areas in Chicago on social wellness – a measure of feeling connected with others and with a community – for adults 55 and better. Previous research shows strong social ties are one of the most important predictors of a happy and long life, and that neighborhoods and communities shape how people interact, support one another and build shared identity. Mather Institute developed the map in partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago. Designed as a planning and advocacy resource, the interactive map can help policymakers, community organizations, funders, planners and service providers explore local patterns, identify assets and consider where new investments may have the greatest benefit for older adults. “Social wellness is a crucial, yet often overlooked, part of healthy aging,” said Cate O’Brien, MPH, Ph.D., chief transformation officer at Mather Institute. “Because every community contains diverse histories, people and experiences, the map is intended to inform – not replace – local knowledge. The most useful next step is conversation. When organizations bring this data together with resident voices, they can better understand what is already working and what could be most beneficial to older adults and their communities.” The map is based on a new survey of more than 4,000 Chicago residents age 55 and better, combined with public data on community conditions, including walkability, economic factors and access to gathering places such as libraries, churches and community centers. Factors such as crime, lack of local businesses and poverty can hinder social wellness, but don’t tell the whole story. Users can view a side-by-side comparison of communities to explore how social wellness relates to health, happiness, income and other factors. Key findings include:
“Community leaders often have deep local knowledge, but need data to support the case for programs, funding and partnerships,” said Jennifer L. Smith, Ph.D., vice president of Mather Institute. “The Social Wellness Map offers another lens for understanding older adults’ experiences and for turning local insight into action.” High social wellness scores were not confined to one part of Chicago or to its wealthiest areas, suggesting that other factors such as neighborhood identity, belonging and longstanding social ties are also important to connection. Chatham emerged as a notable example, with a social wellness score of 8.14 out of 10, illustrating social wellness reflects aspects of community life beyond economic and safety indicators alone. Beverly received the highest community connectability score: 100 out of 100. Beverly is notable for its low crime rates, a strong family culture and several longstanding community gathering places. Jefferson Park stood out for having community conditions that support connection such as accessible transit, retail activity and established cultural gathering places. The map is free to use and does not require user registration. It can be explored at: https://www.matherinstitute.com/social-wellness-map/
About Mather and Mather Institute
Based in Evanston, Illinois, Mather is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1941 that is dedicated to a vision of changing the way society views aging. Mather creates Ways to Age Well℠ through programs, places and residences for today’s older adults. These include developing and operating communities that support older adults in pursuing wellness and fulfillment; sparking creativity and connections for older adults in Chicagoland and beyond; and through Mather Institute, conducting research and incubating innovation to help all live and age well.
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