Gov. Pat Quinn today signed a law allowing Illinois prison inmates to receive credits toward their sentences in a move meant to reduce overcrowding and save the state money.
Quinn signed SB2621 late Friday. The bill allows the director of the Illinois Department of Corrections to award and revoke credits, while taking into account several aspects of an inmate's criminal past and capacity for rehabilitation.
Early release was suspended in late 2009 after reports that some inmates had served only a few weeks or days of their sentences in prison under an unpublicized program that removed a traditional 60-day hold on awarding credits. Many inmates served significant time in county jails.
The bill can be found here.
Quinn's statement can be found here.
Fact sheet on the program from the John Howard Association here.
