Prison News | Illinois

• Education & Rehabilitation
• Executions, Death Row, & the Death Penalty
• Gangs in Prison
• Health & Medical Treatment
• Prison Classification, Placement, and Release
• Prison Conditions & Corruption
• Prison Life & Prison Culture
• Riots, Lockdowns & Escapes
• Suicides in Prison
• Workplace & Industry News and Science & Tech

Education & Rehabilitation

• Chicago business trains former inmates to be beekeepers
  
  (CNN) - On the West Side of Chicago, honey bees have become a beacon of hope for former inmates....[more]
  ABC 17 News, Tuesday, May 28, 2019
  
  
• Ex-offenders get help to make most of their freedom
  
  Up to 500 people on parole or probation are expected to attend the Summit of Hope, where state and social service agencies and employers will try to link up those who’ve had scrapes with the law with services or jobs, officials said....[more]
  Chicago Tribune, Wednesday, August 6, 2014
  
  
• Taylorville inmates to build 200th Habitat for Humanity house
  
  TAYLORVILLE, Ill. (AP) - Inmates who take construction classes at Taylorville Correctional Center are poised to finish building their 200th home for Habitat for Humanity on Wednesday......[more]
  Associated Press, Sunday, June 30, 2013
  
  

Executions, Death Row & the Death Penalty

• Man sentenced to 16 years in prison for plot to blow up Chicago bar
  
  (Reuters) - An Illinois man was sentenced on Monday to 16 years in prison for attempting to set off what he thought was a car bomb outside a downtown Chicago bar in 2012, a federal prosecutor said. ...[more]
  Reuters, Monday, May 6, 2019
  
  

Gangs in Prison

• Jury finds Chicago gang member guilty in the murder of 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee
  
  CHICAGO — After just a few hours of deliberation late Thursday night, a Cook County jury found a man guilty of first degree murder of Tyshawn Lee, a 9-year-old boy who was shot and killed in one of Chicago's most horrific crimes....[more]
  USA Today, Thursday, October 3, 2019
  
  
• Taylorville inmates to build 200th Habitat for Humanity house
  
  TAYLORVILLE, Ill. (AP) - Inmates who take construction classes at Taylorville Correctional Center are poised to finish building their 200th home for Habitat for Humanity on Wednesday......[more]
  Associated Press, Sunday, June 30, 2013
  
  
• Correctional Officers Become End-of-Life Caretakers: Winnebago County Jail Partners With Local Hospice to Provide Care to Terminally Ill Inmate
  
  This partnership raises a number of issues faced by detention and correctional facilities with aging populations. How can one inmate be given preferential treatment, logistically and psychosocially, over others? ......[more]
  Corrections Today, Friday, August 1, 2008
  
  
• Prison nurses look forward to new facility
  
  Clinton Correctional Facility Mental Health Unit nurses discuss their jobs and the benefits of the new hospital being constructed. ...[more]
  Plattsburgh Press Republican , Saturday, June 2, 2007
  
  
• Study: Illinois prison conditions deteriorating
  
  American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union outlines deteriorating conditions in the state...[more]
  Bloomington Pantagraph, Thursday, March 22, 2007
  
  
• 8 ARRESTED IN CHICAGO DRUG BUST
  
  Following a 3-month undercover drug investigation in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood...[more]
  The Chicago Sun-Times, Saturday, December 23, 2006
  
  
• Alleged gang `king' on trial in drug-conspiracy case
  
  ...[more]
  Chicago Tribune, Thursday, August 31, 2006
  
  

Health & Medical Treatment

• R Kelly’s lawyer is pushing to get him released from prison to protect his health
  
  Steve Greenberg claims that the Ignition singer’s health is deteriorating while he is in custody and is heading back to court to try and get Kelly released....[more]
  metro.co.uk, Tuesday, October 1, 2019
  
  

Prison Classification, Placement, & Release

• Shuttered corrections facility in Decatur donated to homeless mission; could house up to 200
  
  DECATUR, Ill. (AP) - A closed Illinois Department of Corrections facility in Decatur will become the new site of a homeless mission. Mick McCammack is the executive director of Decatur Cares. He says the former work release facility will .....[more]
  Associated Press, Tuesday, July 16, 2013
  
  
• State, Livingston County officials plan tour of closed Dwight Correctional Center
  
  DWIGHT, Ill. (AP) - State officials are set to visit the closed Dwight Correctional Center next week as the Livingston County sheriff tries to get permission to use a portion of the facility to house hundreds of inmates....[more]
  Associated Press, Friday, July 12, 2013
  
  
• Livingston County sheriff wants to take over part of closed Dwight Correctional Center
  
  SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The Livingston County sheriff says he's hoping to get permission to use a portion of the closed Dwight Correctional Center to house hundreds of inmates....[more]
  Associated Press, Thursday, June 13, 2013
  
  

Prison Conditions & Corruption

• Vandalia prison conditions better - Inmates had been housed inside gym
  
  SPRINGFIELD - Overcrowding at the Vandalia Correctional Center remains a concern, but a new report says conditions at the minimum- security facility have improved slightly in the past two years....[more]
  Pentagraph, Friday, June 14, 2013
  
  
• Corrections official from southern Illinois resigns after sexual harassment investigations
  
  CHICAGO (AP) - The deputy director for the Illinois Department of Corrections' southern district has resigned following investigations of sexual harassment....[more]
  Associated Press, Sunday, June 9, 2013
  
  
• Study: Illinois prison conditions deteriorating
  
  American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union outlines deteriorating conditions in the state...[more]
  Bloomington Pantagraph, Thursday, March 22, 2007
  
  

Prison Life & Culture

• 2 Southern Illinois Jails Allowing E-Cigarettes
  
  SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Two county jails in southern Illinois are allowing inmates to use electronic cigarettes, and other counties are considering it....[more]
  Associated Press, Thursday, October 31, 2013
  
  
• My childhood home, my mom with a mansion... and J-Lo's derriere: The strangely touching requests for pictures from supermax prison's 'worst of the worst' inmates stuck in solitary for the rest of their lives
  
  A remarkable and strangely touching photo project by campaigners against America's 'supermax' prisons, has given an insight into what inmates face in solitary confinement - and the images from the outside world that they remember so dearly....[more]
  Daily Mail Online, Thursday, September 19, 2013
  
  
• More Illinois prisons plan to switch to 2 larger meals a day for inmates, down from 3
  
  SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Illinois corrections officials say they're expanding a program that changes the meal schedule for prison inmates....[more]
  Associated Press, Monday, September 16, 2013
  
  
• Neighbors: Closed Joliet prison featured in 'The Blues Brothers' a safety threat after fire
  
  JOLIET, Ill. (AP) - Neighbors living near a closed state prison in Joliet are frustrated and worried that the property is falling into disrepair, saying last week's fire is just another sign that the aging limestone complex is a public ......[more]
  Associated Press, Sunday, July 28, 2013
  
  
• Fire destroys warehouse at Joliet prison; facility featured in 'Blues Brothers' movie
  
  JOLIET, Ill. (AP) - A long-closed state prison in Joliet that's been featured in TV shows and movies was damaged overnight in a fire. Tom Shaer is the director of communications for the Illinois Department of Corrections. He says the fire at ......[more]
  Associated Press, Thursday, July 25, 2013
  
  

Riots, Lockdowns & Escapes

• He was a five-star recruit and an NFL prospect. Now he's in prison
  
  Kyle Williams was a five-star recruit out of Illinois that had some of the nation's best colleges recruiting him. He signed to play at Iowa, but he didn't have the ACT scores to compete and never played for the Hawkeyes. ...[more]
  USA TODAY, Sunday, August 18, 2019
  
  
• Chicago man mistakenly released from prison
  
  CHICAGO — A Chicago man sentenced to 16 years in federal prison for dealing heroin that killed a person was mistakenly released from prison because of an apparent paperwork mix-up....[more]
  Associated Press, Sunday, September 29, 2013
  
  
• Escaped Illinois prisoner caught not far from prison
  
  PALESTINE, Ill. (AP) - Authorities say a prisoner who walked away from a work crew on Friday has been captured not far away. Illinois Department of Corrections spokesman Tom Shaer said Jared Carter was spotted by local police Tuesday ......[more]
  Associated Press, Tuesday, September 3, 2013
  
  
• Search under way for sex offender who fled from East St. Louis halfway house
  
  EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) - The search is underway for a paroled sex offender who authorities say bolted from his East St. Louis halfway house....[more]
  Associated Press, Tuesday, July 16, 2013
  
  
• Lockdown at Pontiac: Firearm from '90s located in prison - Gun found in prison wall
  
  SPRINGFIELD - The state prison housing some of Illinois' most dangerous criminals is on lockdown after officials say they found a gun smuggled into the facility sometime during former Gov. Jim Edgar's administration....[more]
  Pentagraph, Saturday, June 15, 2013
  
  
• Corrections officials transfer 72 inmates to Menard in southern Illinois
  
  CHESTER, Ill. (AP) - Illinois prison officials say they've transferred 72 inmates to Menard Correctional Center in the southern Illinois community of Chester....[more]
  Associated Press, Saturday, June 15, 2013
  
  

Suicides in Prison

• Inmate suicides like Jeffrey Epstein's are increasing - and predictable, senator says
  
  Federal inmates were killing themselves at escalating rates when the Trump administration slashed 5,156 officers and staff positions through a hiring freeze and budget cuts - a downsizing of 14%....[more]
  The Washington Post, Saturday, August 31, 2019
  
  

Workplace & Industry News, and Science & Tech News

• Cook Co. corrections worker accused of sex assault
  
  The Chicago Sun-Times reports 39-year-old Daniel Robinson is charged with unlawful restraint and criminal sexual abuse. He appeared in bond court Sunday.

  Assistant State's Attorney Oscar Garcia says Robinson met the girl online and told her he worked as a police officer....[more]

  Associated Press, Monday, August 12, 2013
  
  
• Convert closed prisons for other useful purposes
  
  Livingston County Sheriff Marty Meredith has a neat idea that could become a model for the rest of the state. Meredith is currently working with the state to re-purpose part of the recently closed Dwight Correctional Center into a facility ......[more]
  Pentagraph, Thursday, June 20, 2013
  
  
• Waste products explored to power Illinois prisons
  
  SPRINGFIELD - One of the state's oldest prisons could be getting a little greener. As part of a push to use alternative fuels, Illinois Department of Corrections officials are assessing whether Menard Correctional Center in Chester could be ......[more]
  Pentagraph, Friday, June 7, 2013
  
  
• Correctional Officers Become End-of-Life Caretakers: Winnebago County Jail Partners With Local Hospice to Provide Care to Terminally Ill Inmate
  
  This partnership raises a number of issues faced by detention and correctional facilities with aging populations. How can one inmate be given preferential treatment, logistically and psychosocially, over others? ......[more]
  Corrections Today, Friday, August 1, 2008
  
  
• Prison nurses look forward to new facility
  
  Clinton Correctional Facility Mental Health Unit nurses discuss their jobs and the benefits of the new hospital being constructed. ...[more]
  Plattsburgh Press Republican , Saturday, June 2, 2007