On a chilly December day at 26th and California, traffic bustles near the civil courts building and the enormous 20-building complex of Cook County Jail, which houses 10,000 inmates. Pedestrians brace themselves against the wind and cold, pulling on hats and opening umbrellas. The gray sky is spitting rain and large fluffy snowflakes.
At any given hour of operation, around 20 female detainees are either having their hair styled or awaiting appointments. “We call this the Magic Shop,” says Amanda Franklin, a detainee wearing dark, square-rimmed glasses and a new hairstyle with neatly trimmed bangs. “When people come in here, they be all tore up. They do a good job. On the street ain’t as good as these are here.”
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Her views are in line with many changes that the jail has undergone in the last few years to serve its burgeoning female population. In 1985 the jail housed 280 female detainees; in 1996 there were approximately 790. According to the August/September issue of the Key, a newsletter for DOC employees, “When Sheriff Michael F. Sheahan took office [in 1991], female detainees were not allowed to have bras. They were denied access to hair care and personal toiletries as basic as shampoo, deodorant and sanitary napkins.” Says Pinson, “Even if they go to the penitentiary because they were found guilty, women still have their needs. We don’t have to abuse her.”
Robinson sees her work as important in helping her fellow inmates. “A woman’s hair is her crowning glory,” she says. “When you look good you feel good. It lifts self-esteem.”
