SPRINGFIELD -- The state is spending more than $71,000 to replace bunk beds at the St. Charles youth prison in hopes of preventing another suicide like the one that claimed the life of one of the children incarcerated there in September.

A spokeswoman for the state's Department of Juvenile Justice said the beds would help address "physical deficiencies" at the Illinois Youth Center and that they had not yet arrived.

The beds recently showed up as an "emergency" purchase on a state Web site that tracks such expenditures. In explaining the need for the purchase, the state cited the recent suicide and lingering safety issues. On Sept. 1, a 16-year-old inmate hanged himself from his bunk bed.

"The suicide was facilitated by the youth using the current style of bed, which is a double bunk. This double bunk places the facility in a liable situation and the replacement of the bunk with the proposed single bed will provide the facility with a safer environment for the youths under its care," the purchasing document reads.

Only one vendor submitted a bid for the youth prison beds. Norix Group Inc. will be paid $71,699.20. The West Chicago firm specializes in prison and other intensive-use products.

Aside from the suicide, the youth prison on Route 38 west of Randall Road was the subject of a critical report last month by the prison-reform group John Howard Association of Illinois. The report found the center "appalling" inside, detailing safety, sanitation and maintenance problems in addition to safety concerns with bedding, toilets and other items.