An Austin man who died last week at West Suburban Hospital from complications related to COVID-19 was released on parole from an Illinois correctional facility five days before his death, state records show. 

 Timothy Loving, 59, was pronounced dead at West Sub, 3 Erie St. in Oak Park, on March 17. 

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office ruled that Loving died from respiratory failure related to COVID-19. He also had underlying medical issues, such as diabetes and chronic substance abuse. 

According to information publicly available on the Illinois Department of Corrections’ website, Loving was discharged from Lincoln Correctional Center in Lincoln on March 11, after serving four years. He was admitted into the correctional system on Jan. 11, 2016. 

Currently, it’s unknown how Loving contracted COVID-19. A spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Corrections did not respond to a request for comment and attempts this week to reach his family members were unsuccessful. 

An employee with the department’s COVID-19 support line said that he could not comment on Loving’s case, citing privacy laws, but he did say that, as of March 27, there have been no reported cases of COVID-19 at Lincoln Correctional. The employee also said that IDOC is not testing prisoners before they’re released, unless they show any symptoms of the viral disease. 

According to the department’s data, there have been eight confirmed COVID-19 cases among incarcerated individuals and nine among staffers. Those cases have been at two adult transition centers and three correctional facilities. So far, there have been only 30 COVID-19 tests conducted among the state’s incarcerated population and all are pending. 

The North Lawndale Adult Transition Center, 2839 W Fillmore St., has reported three cases of COVID-19 among inmates who are housed under transitional study. 

Officials with IDOC have stated on the department’s website that all “correctional facilities, Impact Incarceration Programs, and work camps are currently under Administrative Quarantine with no visits.” 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has also suspended all admissions to the department of corrections from all county jails in the state.  

“The Director of IDOC will work closely with county Sheriffs and other partners in the criminal justice system to discuss any potential exceptions that may be necessary,” according to the website.