Report: Illinois inmates wear dirty, old underwear

SPRINGFIELD — A watchdog group says inmates in at least one of Illinois' prisons are being forced to wear the same underwear for days at a time because of a clothing shortage.

The (Bloomington) Pantagraph reports that the John Howard Association found inmates at the Taylorville Correctional Center wear dirty and badly worn clothes that were washed twice a week. The prison issues inmates two pairs of underwear each so they have to wear them multiple days without washing.

The Howard Association calls the problem a health and hygiene concern.

John Maki is director of the association. He believes prisons across the state system have the same problem.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections says officials are doing their best in difficult financial times. The state has a multibillion-dollar budget deficit.