Maybe they gave them some nice polar fleece for under their jumpsuits

OK, that looks bad.  Surely there's an explanation.

After a dozen days of snow hit Chicago and temperatures began their swift descent to below zero, a photo of inmates shoveling snow outside Cook County Jail with what the poster said was “no real winter gear” went viral.

Now, the sheriff’s office is trying to clean up the backlash — and set the record straight — and activists are pushing for greater awareness of challenges faced by incarcerated people during dangerous weather.

“The situation was entirely and intentionally misrepresented,” said Cara Smith, chief spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office.

[...]

The people in the photo were provided with insulated jumpsuits from the office, along with gloves, hats and boots, Smith said. There was also a van on-site for warming.

“And we work very hard to get these young men jobs when they graduate from the program,” Smith said. “I think our track record for caring about the people that are in custody is pretty solid, and we take that responsibility very seriously.”

[...]

Smith said the workers were paid “nominally” — $2 for the work assignment — but that’s “not really the purpose of the program.”

[...]

Workers in RENEW, along with workers in the Sheriff’s Work Alternative Program, do not work if temperatures dip below 20 degrees, Smith said.

  Chicago Tribune

Besides, shoveling snow warms you right up.

Sharlyn Grace, co-executive director of the Chicago Community Bond Fund [...] said she [...] learned the inmates were working under the RENEW program. As part of RENEW, a vocational program for essentially nonviolent offenders, detainees spend six months in custody and then eight months out in the community.

[...]

Grace questioned how shoveling plays into the program.

“I don’t think that anyone is seriously suggesting that shoveling snow is a skilled form of labor that’s going to lead to job opportunities upon release,” she said.

The City could probably put them on the rolls.  At something slightly above $2.  "Nominal" might be understating it.