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Moffitt Concerned About Prison Budget
The Illinois Department of Corrections stands to lose some money in the state budget under the cuts Governor Pat Quinn announced last week, and a local lawmaker says he's concerned.

Quinn announced about a $42 billion cut to the state's one-billion dollar prisons budget, he says, mostly through reigning in overtime costs and other things.

But State Representative Don Moffitt tells WGIL overtime costs could be cut if the prisons were staffed at better levels, but they're not.

"The concern is the safety of our staff in Corrections -- the safety of our correctional officers and the rest of the staff that's there, as well as keeping the prison under control, and the safety of inmates," Moffitt said. "I'm very concerned -- very concerned -- about any reduction in Corrections. In fact, that's one area that's already understaffed and should be under consideration for additional [funding]."

Moffitt cites as an example last week's incident at Henry Hill Correctional Center in Galesburg where a set of keys was reported to be lost.

Moffitt also has a number of other continued concerns about the state budget -- among them, the further extension of the bill payment cycle, leaving potentially more providers unpaid for longer periods of time.
07 05 10 by Newsroom
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