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Mom sentenced to prison for disabled daughter's death hospitalized

Four days after she was incarcerated at Cook County jail for the 2015 death of her severely disabled daughter, Bonnie Liltz was admitted to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital in Chicago, her attorney said.

Thomas Glasgow said Liltz, his client, who uses an ostomy pouch as a result of cancer treatment she received in 1981, may have developed an infection after the ostomy pouch was not changed while she was in jail.

She was transferred to Cermak Hospital, the medical facility affiliated with the jail, and then late Sunday or Monday to Stroger Hospital, where she is undergoing tests and treatment for dehydration, Glasgow said.

Glasgow filed an emergency motion Tuesday requesting Liltz's bail be reinstated or that she remain at Stroger for treatment. A Cook County judge granted his motion and ordered she remain in custody at the hospital until after a June 7 hearing.

"We told the court this was going to happen and it happened," said Glasgow, who had requested probation for his client citing ill health.

Prosecutors also recommended probation, but Cook County Judge Joel Greenblatt, sentenced Liltz last week to four years in prison.

"Life is precious. Even a life that is disabled. Even a life that is profoundly disabled," Greenblatt said to Liltz, who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of her 28-year-old daughter Courtney, who Liltz adopted when the girl was 5 years old.

Liltz was the sole caretaker for Courtney, who had cerebral palsy, used a wheelchair and was unable to speak.

Glasgow said Liltz fed herself and Courtney an overdose of prescription medication on May 27, 2015, after Liltz awoke feeling ill. Liltz testified she feared what would happen to her daughter if Liltz died and Courtney was institutionalized.

A spokeswoman for the Cook County Health & Hospitals System declined to comment on Liltz's case, citing federal privacy laws, but said Cermak and Stroger hospitals provide high-quality care to inmates.

"Cermak does an outstanding job caring for more than 8,000 detainees 24/7," said executive director Caryn Stancik in an emailed statement. "Every patient is screened upon intake and has access to medical care round-the-clock ... Those needing advanced care are transported to Stroger Hospital."

Glasgow met with Liltz Monday in her hospital room and said he is worried about her health.

"We already had one tragedy," he said referring to Courtney's death. "We don't need another."

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