On September 18, 2009, Governor Pat Quinn announced that he was going to release 1,000 inmates early from their prison sentences with the intent of saving Illinois up to $5 million annually. At the time, Department of Corrections spokeswoman Januari Smith assured everyone that those released would be “low-level, non-violent” offenders in the last year of their sentences. We were also assured that they would be fitted with electronic monitoring at the time of release. As blogger “Joe the Cop” pointed out in December, at a time when the Illinois recidivism (or “repeated or habitual relapse, as into crime”) rates have been notoriously high, it did not make the most sense to view early release as a practical cost-saving measure. More importantly, in September, the Department of Corrections instituted the secret “MGT Push” program (“Meritorious Good Time”) that allowed repeat drunk drivers, drug users, and some convicted of battery and/or weapons charges to serve less than three weeks behind bars despite a long standing practice of incarcerating for a minimum of 61 days. Read more
Tag Solutions
Budget Solution, Comparison Edition
People say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. We experienced it on the playground. We see it in fashion and fads. We see it in business and sports all the time. Why shouldn’t State governments start looking at each other to figure out what is working and what is not? Contrary to popular belief, not every state is experiencing $10-plus billion budget deficits. Some have actually managed to balance-balance (not to be confused with Illinois-balance) their annual budget, matching expenditures/spending to revenue. Contrary to popular belief, they’re not all oil states. Read more
