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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS, EASTERN DIVISION

CAITLIN DOHENY, as personal representative and )

administrator of THE ESTATE OF THOMAS DOHENY, )

)

Plaintiff, )

)

 vs. ) No. 3:20-cv-50138

)

BILL PRIM, SHERIFF OF MCHENRY COUNTY and )

UNKNOWN MCHENRY COUNTY CORRECTIONAL )

OFFICERS 1-12, )

)

Defendants. )

PLAINTIFF’S THIRD AMENDED COMPLAINT

NOW COMES Plaintiff, CAITLIN DOHENY as personal representative and administrator 

of THE ESTATE OF THOMAS DOHENY, by and through her attorneys, The Gooch Firm and 

Noonan, Perillo & Thut, and as and for her Third Amended Complaint against Defendants, BILL 

PRIM, SHERIFF OF MCHENRY COUNTY and UNKNOWN MCHENRY COUNTY 

CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS 1-12, states as follows: 

PARTIES

1. The Plaintiff’s decedent, Thomas Doheny, was prior to his death on November 17, 2017, 

a resident of McHenry County, Illinois, residing in Barrington Hills, Illinois.

2. Plaintiff, CAITLIN DOHENY is the lawfully appointment personal representative of the 

Estate of Thomas Doheny, serving as its administrator. 

3. Defendant BILL PRIM is the duly elected Sheriff of McHenry County, Illinois. Defendant 

Prim is responsible for the administration of the McHenry County Jail with final policy 

making authority over jail operations.

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4. Defendants Unknown Correctional officers 1-12 are duly appointed Sheriffs’ Deputies 

charged with the day to day supervision and oversight of inmates incarcerated at the 

McHenry County Jail. Plaintiff does not know the identities of the Correctional officers on 

duty at the time of the death of Plaintiffs’ decedent.

JURISDICTION

5. Plaintiff brings this cause of action pursuant to Section 1983 of the United States Civil 

Rights Act (42 USC 1983). As such this Court has jurisdiction to adjudicate this federal 

question pursuant to 28 USC 1331. This matter was initially timely filed in the Circuit 

Court of the Twenty Second Judicial Circuit McHenry County, Illinois as Case No. 19 LA 

367 and removed to this Court on April 20,2020.

VENUE

6. This cause of action arose in the McHenry County Jail in Woodstock, Illinois. Venue is 

proper in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Western 

Division.

CAUSE OF ACTION

7. Thomas Doheny and his former spouse Elizabeth Doheny had, prior to the time of his 

death, been embroiled in what could be best described as a tenacious and bitter divorce, 

whereby each party maintained various rights and claims against the other. 

8. Nevertheless, prior to November 17, 2017, Elizabeth Doheny, the former spouse of 

Thomas Doheny, had asserted numerous rights against Thomas Doheny for the failure to 

pay child support and maintenance as ordered by the Court, amounting to a sum of money 

well in excess of $100,000.00. 

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9. At the time, the decedent asserted that he was unemployed, having had his employment 

terminated by a family owned and controlled business and was unable to pay all past-due 

amounts of child support and maintenance. 

10. Prior to the termination of his employment, Thomas Doheny, enjoyed a fairly lavish 

lifestyle residing in Barrington Hills, Illinois and elsewhere and earning substantial income 

well in excess of $300,000.00 per year. 

11. Despite repeated warnings by the Court, Thomas Doheny refused to pay the aforesaid 

support and maintenance obligations and pursuant to a lawful Order of Court was held in 

Civil Contempt of Court and incarcerated in the McHenry County Jail. 

12. At the time of his incarceration in the McHenry County Jail, the aforesaid jail was 

administrated and controlled by the duly elected Sheriff and Jailor of McHenry County,

Illinois Defendant BILL PRIM.

13. At the time of the death of Thomas Doheny, as further set forth below, the aforesaid jail 

was being administered on a minute to minute basis by correctional officers identified only 

as Officers 1-12. The exact identities of these individuals are presently unknown. 

14. The aforesaid correctional officers worked ultimately under the direction and control of 

Sheriff and Jailor of McHenry County, BILL PRIM. Defendant Prim controlled the number 

of correctional officers and jail staff working at the Jail as well as their activities while on 

duty, he also promulgated rules and regulations under which the correctional officers and 

staff performed their duties.

15. At the time of the Plaintiff-decedents’ incarceration he was not subjected administrative 

incarceration or any type of suicide watch, but was instead incarcerated within the general 

population of the McHenry County Jail. 

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16. At the same time the McHenry County Jail had numerous inmates: pending criminal

detainees awaiting trial, sentenced criminals awaiting transportation to the Department of 

Corrections, and more importantly numerous incarcerated individuals being held by the 

United States government pursuant to various immigration procedures all for the profit of 

McHenry County. 

17. As aforesaid McHenry County has entered into contracts with the United States of America 

for the incarceration of human beings not accused of a particular crime and not sentenced 

for a particular crime but being held indefinitely on immigration holds while awaiting their 

deportation from the United States of America. McHenry County received a bounty for 

each and every one of the aforesaid individuals placed on immigration holds but as a result

the McHenry County Jail became over-crowded. Upon information and belief Plaintiff 

DOHENY alleges that as a result of the addition of individuals on immigration holds there 

were an insufficient number of correctional officers to maintain and control the population 

of McHenry County Jail. 

18. At the time of the incarceration of Thomas Doheny, Defendant BILL PRIM made the 

intentional decision not to increase the amount of personnel to properly supervise and 

control the population of the McHenry County Jail. 

19. At the time of his incarceration Thomas Doheny was exhibiting numerous symptoms of 

severe depression and was despondent in all ways regarding his life and future, 

complaining of physical pain and other maladies for which he was prescribed “aspirin”. 

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20. At the time of his incarceration and thereafter Thomas Doheny should have been required 

to submit to a psychiatric evaluation and isolation from the general population together 

with close supervision. However, as aforesaid, Thomas Doheny was placed in the general 

population of the jail. 

21. Thomas Doheny’s movement within the jail and his day to day activities should have been 

closely monitored by the Defendants named herein or their subordinates as there were 

numerous video cameras as well as audio surveillance of all telephone calls. Nevertheless, 

Thomas Doheny’s activities within the jail and particularly his telephone calls were largely 

ignored by the Defendants and/or their subordinates as a result of the inadequate staffing 

of the McHenry County Jail.

22. During numerous telephone calls, Thomas Doheny would have been heard to be giving 

away numerous valuable items of personal property or attempting to make those gifts 

without value received to numerous friends particularly leading up to the days immediately 

before his self-inflicted death. 

23. Plaintiff alleges upon information and belief based on the review of various bits of 

information including reports and inmate interviews that on the day of Thomas Doheny’s 

death, he was seen removing a garbage bag from a container from the so-called “day room” 

of the jail and returning to his cell. 

24. Thereafter Thomas Doheny placed the garbage bag over his head and tied it to his neck 

with a t-shirt and ultimately, with his hands tied with socks, succeeded in suffocating 

himself in his cell at approximately 8:00pm on the date in question. 

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25. At 8:00pm on the date in question there was a medicine call whereby the nurse on duty 

handed out medications to all inmates authorized to receive them including prescription 

medications for Thomas Doheny. 

26. Thomas Doheny did not attend the aforesaid medicine distribution and had not attended it 

for a period of time in excess of ten minutes. 

27. As a result of inadequate staffing the Defendants, did not send a correctional officer to 

Thomas Doheny’s cell, instead Defendants instructed an inmate to go to Thomas Doheny’s 

cell and bring him to the medicine distribution point. 

28. Had a correctional officer gone immediately to Thomas Doheny’s cell the ultimate result

would have been different as Thomas Doheny by then had placed the garbage bag over his 

head and was in the process of suffocating himself.

29. An inmate who went to Thomas Doheny’s cell noticed the garbage bag on his head and the 

plastic material sucked into Thomas Doheny’s mouth. 

30. The inmate left Thomas Doheny’s cell and advised, in apparently a loud voice, what he 

had discovered. 

31. A female nurse immediately went to Thomas Doheny’s cell but was unable, because of 

Thomas Doheny’s size, to remove him from his bunk and place him on the floor in order 

to begin chest compressions to save Thomas Doheny’s life. 

32. As a result of the inadequate staffing the correctional officials did not immediately go to 

Thomas Doheny’s cell, instead correctional officials began a “lockdown” procedure to

secure all inmates prior to going to Thomas Doheny’s cell. 

33. At some time after the lockdown procedure the aforesaid Defendants contacted the 

Woodstock Fire Department requesting an “EMS” response. 

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34. By the time of the aforesaid response Thomas Doheny’s was for all intents and purposes 

dead although heart monitors attached by the aforesaid personal indicated for a time there 

were some heart rhythms present. 

35. The inadequate staffing at the McHenry County Jail did not allow for an urgent medical 

response causing harm to Thomas Doheny which greatly diminished his chances of 

survival.

36. Due to the delay occasioned by the inadequate staffing of the McHenry County Jail herein,

Thomas Doheny ultimately perished and was declared dead sometime later at a local 

hospital.

37. The overcrowding of the McHenry County Jail as a result of the Defendants acceptance 

and incarceration of numerous individuals on immigration holds without an attendant 

increase in staffing of the jail placed the Plaintiff’s decedent at a substantial risk of serious 

harm.

38. Defendants failed to take reasonable measures to alleviate the risk of increasing the 

population of the McHenry County Jail without proper supervision by an adequate amount 

of staff.

39. The Defendants intentional decision to increase the population of the McHenry County Jail 

with individuals on U.S. government immigration holds without increasing the jail staff 

resulted in the dilatory performance of the Defendant Correctional Officers on duty at the 

McHenry County Jail and directly caused the death of Thomas Doheny. 

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40. At all times material hereto, there was in full force and effect section 1983 of the United 

States Civil Rights Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983) which states as follows: 

“Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or 

usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to 

be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction 

thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the 

Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit 

in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought 

against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer’s judicial 

capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was 

violated or declaratory relief was unavailable. For the purposes of this section, any 

Act of Congress applicable exclusively to the District of Columbia shall be 

considered to be a statute of the District of Columbia.”

41. The Defendants herein through incarcerating the Plaintiff’s decedent were acting under the 

color of state law. 

42. The actions and omissions of the Defendants as aforesaid being so egregious have deprived 

the Plaintiff’s decedent of his Due Process right to medical care and proper supervision 

pursuant to the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution. 

43. As a direct and proximate result of the violation of the Civil Rights of Thomas Doheny as 

aforesaid Mr. Doheny experienced extreme mental and physical pain and suffering which 

ultimately resulted in his death.

44. The intentional actions of the Defendants as aforesaid were reckless and in callous 

indifference to the federally protected due process rights of Plaintiff’s decedent entitling 

Plaintiff to an award of actual and punitive damages. 

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WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays this Honorable Court enter a judgment in their favor and against 

the Defendants in an amount in excess of $100,000.00, together with the costs of bringing this 

action, and a reasonable amount of attorney’s fees and punitive damages pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 

Sec. 1983. 

PLAINTIFF HEREBY DEMANDS A TRIAL BY JURY.

Respectfully submitted

on behalf of Plaintiff,

/s/ Thomas W. Gooch, III

/s/ C. Jeffrey Thut

THE GOOCH FIRM

209 S. Main Street

Wauconda, Illinois 60084

847.526.0110

ARDC No. 3123355

gooch@goochfirm.com

office@goochfirm.com

C. Jeffrey Thut 

Noonan, Perillo & Thut 

ARDC No. 6188219

25 N. County Street 

Waukegan, IL 60085 

P: 847-244-0111

jthut@npt-law.com

mmckown@npt-law.com

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