Illinois Taxpayers Shell Out Hundreds of Millions as Prison Reform Lawsuits Grind On – Illinois Answers Project

Court-ordered audits show the Illinois Department of Corrections continues to fail to provide basic care to inmates. The state has paid more than $13 million in legal fees and fines so far as part of the settlements and faces an ultimate tab of hundreds of millions of dollars to fulfill settlement requirements. Separately, a report published earlier this year estimates the state has a multibillion dollar backlog in maintenance expenses to repair its dilapidated prisons, some of which date to the 19th century.