Penalty shots: Have patience with Menard investigation

It's been a rough 2017 thus far for Menard Correctional Center, as the facility has found itself in news circles quite a bit in the past few months.

Two significant staff assault incidents, the latter of which injured nine staff members last month, and the death of inmate Michael A. Jefferson have added up to a few new dents in the ol' public relations dart board.

It would certainly help if the Illinois Department of Corrections was a bit more transparent about what happens on Kaskaskia Street, as IDOC's PR department always seems reactive - sometimes frustratingly so - rather than proactive about news organizations inquiring into incidents that occur on prison property.

For your local outlets, that means relying on inside sources (many, if not all, decline to use their name) and union representatives for a true behind-the-official-statements look at what happens inside the state's second-oldest prison.

The honesty of the situation is a Menard sentence is no sunshine and rainbows. The general consensus I've heard from various law enforcement officials is if you end up at Menard, you earned it.

These are dangerous people and dangerous people do have a tendency to act out when placed in stressful, intense environments. That can lead to violence and people getting hurt.

In Jefferson's incident, we don't have all the facts yet. Preliminary results of the autopsy, as stated in a news release from Randolph County Coroner Carlos Barbour, showed no outward signs of trauma.

I understand and sympathize with a mother's plight in wanting to know the circumstances surrounding the death of her son. In journalism, there are cases where not all is what it seems.

But that also shouldn't suggest there's a cover-up behind every incident. Automatically assuming foul play without a full deck of facts does little other than stoking the fires of protest and anger.

The Chicago media picked up the story soon enough, with aggressive headlines all but accusing IDOC of gross negligence. Jefferson's family has retained an attorney and is seeking an independent autopsy of the 27-year-old Chicagoan.

For now, Menard staff will have to ride out another storm in the untamed waves of a PR maelstrom. How long it will last is anybody's guess, but it wasn't the first, nor will it be the last.