Progress Illinois

A seldom-used law in Illinois to force inmates to pay for their own incarceration is colliding with policies meant to limit recidivism and prepare prisoners for their life outside the jail cell. The Department of Corrections (DOC) is suing one of its inmates for the pittance he's made working for a program designed to give him some pocket change when he's released.

Writing in the Chicago Tribune, Ameet Sachdev tells the story of Kensley Hawkins, a prisoner since 1982, when he was sentenced to 60 years for killing a man and attempting to kill two Chicago police officers. While in prison, Hawkins took advantage of a work program aimed at teaching inmates job skills they can use outside of prison and giving them a little money to save for when they get out.

But Hawkins was too good at it, apparently. After working in the wood shop for $2 a day, Hawkins -- who is up for parole in 2028 -- saved $11,000 in a bank account. Now, DOC is after it all. Citing a law that says inmates must pay their incarceration fees, and can be held liable if they have more than $10,000 in assets, the DOC is suing Hawkins for the $455,000 and change it cost to house him since 1982. The case is now in front of the state Supreme Court.

This is an issue we've highlighted before. In October, the Brennan Center for Justice issued a report (PDF) stating that fees in Illinois -- those imposed upon defendants to pay for their prosecution, prisoners to pay for their time in jail, and ex-cons to pay for their probation -- creates a "debtors' prison." Such fees, much like the ones charged to Hawkins, only exacerbate the serious problem of prisoner recidivism in Illinois.

Gov. Pat Quinn's funding proposal for the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) in his state budget has been controversial. A number of lawmakers are angry that while human services are projected for cuts in the next fiscal year, IDOC would see more funding, an increase one budget manager said would pay for more prison guards to help drive overtime costs down.

In an editorial published today, the State-Journal Register flags an IDOC effort to consolidate offender information into a new database called Offender 360. "The department has no single database that compiles information about inmate discipline, educational and vocational program participation, substance abuse, rehabilitation program participation and job performance," the editorial reads. Rolling out a better inmate-tracking program will help determine who should qualify for early release, the newspaper concludes.

And early release is kind of the elephant in the room here. The Meritorous Good Time early release program is currently suspended, swelling the state's prison system, costing taxpayers, and straining resources.

IDOC's effort to better track inmates comes as information management in state government is squarely on the table in Springfield. A February auditor general report (PDF) found the state uses 263 different financial systems for keeping tabs on tax dollars. The systems are antiquated, costly, and are not interrelated.