Valenzuela v. Hughes

In September 2026, Daniel Valenzuela, a Deaf individual incarcerated in the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC), filed a federal lawsuit challenging IDOC’s failure to provide Deaf people equal access to its expanded telephone program. Mr. Valenzuela is represented by Disability Rights Advocates, Equip for Equality, and Much Shelist. Read the complaint.

In 2025, recognizing the critical importance of regular phone calls for people in correctional settings, IDOC expanded its telecommunications program. IDOC now provides incarcerated individuals tablet devices that allow them to make multiple telephone calls throughout the day, from their housing units and without relying on IDOC staff for access.

But Mr. Valenzuela—and others who are Deaf and use sign language—are denied this important access. Mr. Valenzuela communicates primarily using American Sign Language (ASL) and must have videophones to talk to his loved ones. Although IDOC-issued tablets have videophone capability, IDOC blocks that feature, preventing Mr. Valenzuela and other Deaf people from using their tablets to place calls in ASL.

The result of IDOC’s action is that Mr. Valenzuela and other Deaf individuals get only a small fraction of the call access that is available to their non-disabled peers. Everyone around them can talk on the phone from their cells, at the times they and their loved ones choose. But Deaf individuals have calls during restricted hours and only when staff are available (and willing) to allow them to use the videophones, which are often in completely different buildings.

Even those hard-to-get calls are limited. For example, the complaint describes that from November 2025 to January 2026, the videophone was not functioning for 54 days in a row, including over Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. Mr. Valenzuela was not able to speak with his family during the holidays, causing him a great deal of grief and depression.

The benefits of regular, consistent phone access in prisons are well documented. Research has shown that regular phone communication can support rehabilitation, strengthen parent-child relationships, promote positive mental health outcomes, and help people maintain meaningful connections with loved ones.

Mr. Valenzuela’s complaint alleges that IDOC’s practices violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504). He seeks a court order requiring IDOC to provide telephone access equal to that provided to non-disabled people in custody.