Thread by @ScottHech

“My name is Cassandra Greer. I am the wife of Nickolas Lee. I’m calling calling calling the jail to no avail. His health is declining. He was gasping for air. I was telling him memories we had. Things we were gonna do. But God saw fit for something else.”

Cassandra's husband was one of the first to die in Chicago's Cook County Jail. She told her story. Local artists illustrated. This is part 2 of 132Calls.com. "I'm calling, calling, calling, to no avail. Calling Sheriff Tom Dart's office to no avail." More from her:

"I'm calling Cermak, which is the hospital on the jail compound. At Cermak there's not an operator or anyone you can speak with. All the while that I'm calling, trying to receive help, my husband's health is declining."

"It went from a sore throat to a fever, from a fever to chills, to a loss of sense of taste and smell, from that to 100 percent weakness."

"Not only am I calling, I went to the facility. All the gates, everything is locked. All I can see is sheriffs coming in & out. 100% rude. They didn't offer, they couldn't give me any advice on anyway to get help. I'm asking, I just need to speak with someone inside to no avail."

"They finally moved my husband to the hospital on April 6th. When my husband made it to John Stroger he was admitted into the ICU. He was already in a severe stage of COVID. He was having real difficulty breathing."

"My husband was a very strong man. And I have never saw him in a worry state. He was always hopeful, and he always knew that he can handle any situation. But, this one, I could tell. He called me Cassi, and he said "Cassi, is anybody beating this thing?"

"And he told me, 'This is really horrible.' He was like 'Baby, it's messing me up.' And he said 'You stay in the house, because I don't want you to catch this.'"

"I would just keep encouraging him. I did most of the talking because he really-I could tell he was really having a hard time breathing. He was gasping for air to breathe. I was just telling him good things. And just memories that we had and the things that we were going to do,

"I was able to pray with him. I was able to tell him how much I need him, which I still do."

"I was able to try to comfort him the best way that I could. But, unfortunately, God saw fit for something else and he passed away April 12th at 4:20 a.m."

What happened to Cassandra in Chicago is the story of the indifference of jails throughout U.S. Back in April she called 132x to save her husband from COVID in jail. Ignored. He died. Demanding change since. Ignored. More caged now than when he died.

As of yesterday, over 5500 people were incarcerated in Chicago jail in unsanitary conditions. Unable to socially distance. The number of people caged in Chicago who are currently confirmed positive for COVID-19 has more than tripled, from 75 on November 9 to 350 on December 7.

There were more people confirmed positive for COVID in Cook County Jail this past week than at the height of spring infections. On November 16th, 85 year-old Harold Graszer became the 8th person to die of COVID-19 while in the custody of Cook County Jail.
chicagobond.org/2020/11/17/eig…

SAVE LIVES. TAKE ACTION. CALL FOR CHANGE. Nick Lee is just one of 1000s of people in Chicago & hundreds of thousands across the country who have been & are being infected with and dying from COVID. Demand action. Visit the Coalition to @EndMoneyBond. Call: chicagobond.org/2020/11/16/as-…