Illinois’ prisons are strapped for cash and caring for the growing number of elderly prisoners is part of the problem. Inmates over 50 are a fairly small slice of the overall prison population. But according to a new report released Wednesday in the Chicago Reader, they use about one-third of the Illinois Department of Corrections’ total budget.
Jessica Pupovac is the freelance journalist behind the report and has been sifting through the figures. She joined "Eight Forty-Eight" to discuss what she unearthed for her piece, "Guarding Grandpa: Illinois is spending money it doesn't have to keep convicts who can barely walk behind bars."
RELATED LINKS:
2010 Vera Institute study
2009 Illinois Department of Corrections annual report
Music Button: Four Tet/Bonobo, "Pick Ups", from the CD Four Tet Remixes, (Domino)
As the city of Chicago overhauls management of some of the city’s biggest festivals, "Eight Forty-Eight" asks listeners what they want from their festival experience and how much they’d be willing to pay. Jim DeRogatis of WBEZ’s Vocalo blogs and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom Held join Alison Cuddy for the conversation.
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