Illinois prison system needs $420M for rest of budget year

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Illinois prisons officials have told state lawmakers that they need an extra $420 million to get through the rest of the budget year. | AP file photo

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois prisons officials have told state lawmakers that they need an extra $420 million to get through the rest of the budget year.

The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports that Illinois Department of Corrections officials spoke to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. They say without the funding they will leave several vendors without payment.

IDOC director John Baldwin says the agency is “constantly doing major conversations with all of our vendors to keep providing us products and services.” IDOC chief financial officer Jared Brunk told lawmakers “every single thing in that supplemental falls under the five-alarm fire.”

The request would fall under a $1.1 billion supplemental spending bill that the governor’s office outlined in February. It’s meant to cover “unappropriated liabilities” from the previous fiscal year.

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