Hello and Welcome to My Petition,

My name is Katrina and I am looking to visit my brother who is currently incarcerated at Dixon Correctional Center in Illinois.  

In or around 2017 I drove nearly four hours to visit my brother, Rodney Patton who was then incarcerated at Hill Correctional Center in Galesburg, IL. when I was told I could not visit my brother.  No reasons were given.  I attempted to call the Warden who was unavailable. My phone calls went unanswered so I started writing letters to the Warden (who was Stephanie Dorethy at the time) and she did not respond to those either.  Several months later, my brother (Rodney M. Patton) was abruptly transferred to Dixon Correctional Center in Dixon Illinois (where he remains today).  When I attempted to visit Rodney at the new facility in Dixon, I was again denied visitation.  I again commenced to writing the Dixon Warden  (John Varga who was in office at that time) and he stated I needed to go back to writing the Hill Correctional facility's Warden which my brother and I both did.  Warden Dorethy never responded.  As a result, my brother and I began writing the Director (who was John Baldwin at that time) and he too responded by directing me to go back to the Hill facility's Warden for resolution.  

Now, I am writing this petition because the Department of Corrections had been and continues to violate their own visitation and denial of visitation procedures, they are preventing me from having due process and are acting under the color of law as it relates to this matter.  Stephanie Dorethy, John Varga and John Baldwin are no longer with the Department in these assigned job positions for years and I still have not been able to see my brother.   

I was Rodney's primary visitor and I was responsible for bringing our mother, my then minor daughter as well as his own minor daughter to see him.  As a result of me being denied visitation, Rodney has not physically seen his mother, my daughter or his daughter.  We are all sadden, angry and very upset.  Rodney has only one child, who is in a stage of life where things about her are evolving rapidly.  With my help, Rodney had been able to see his daughter growing through the years until this visiting thing happened. We all had developed a routine and very much had bonded with Rodney through our visiting routines.  The Department of Corrections is in violation of their established visitation procedures and are using the restriction to aide them in stripping Rodney of his family bonds. Furthermore, I feel these actions are retaliatory, bias, personally motivated and being used as punishment.

I am asking the new Director of the Department of Corrections, Mr. Rob Jeffreys and all Wardens who replaced the previous staff to reverse what Ms. Dorethy's initiated concerning my person and allow me to immediately visit with my brother Rodney M. Patton.

Thank you, Katrina.