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| Prison lawsuits press state: Inmates want early release program |
| By /herald-review.com - KURT ERICKSON |
| Published: 07/09/2012 |
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SPRINGFIELD — Three Illinois prison inmates want a federal judge to order the Quinn administration to improve living conditions at an overcrowded minimum-security facility in Southern Illinois. Their lawsuit was filed just days before Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law an early prisoner release program that could alleviate some of the overcrowding that has resulted in what the inmates and others say are deplorable conditions at the Vienna Correctional Center. Alan Mills, a lawyer with the Chicago-based Uptown People’s Law Center who is representing the inmates, said the early release program could relieve some of the pressure on the state’s prison system, which was built to handle about 33,000 inmates but currently houses more than 48,000. “The early release program certainly could have an effect on this,” Mills said. “It has the potential for doing a lot of good. It would give the Department of Corrections room to move people around and try to make repairs. The problem with the state is that they are just out of space.” According to the lawsuit, many of the nearly 1,900 prisoners in Vienna are living in moldy, cockroach- and mouse-infested quarters with insufficient bathroom facilities in some of the buildings. Broken windows on some buildings have simply been boarded up, rather than replaced. Educational and vocational programs, once a hallmark of the 50-year-old facility, have been significantly curtailed because of state budget problems, leading to tense conditions. “The severe overcrowding and the fact that the prisoners do not have any productive way to spend their time and energy fosters an environment of tension, unrest and violence. Fights routinely break out over theft, as well as petty issues such as seats near the television, time on the phone or the placement of fans,” the lawsuit notes. The overcrowding — Vienna was built to house about 990 inmates — also has limited the prison’s ability to provide inmates with adequate clothing, linens or blankets, the lawsuit notes. “The clothing and bedding materials provided to prisoners are often stained, soiled and tattered,” the lawsuit adds. Read More. |
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