Illinois faces $1.5M bill in jail roof collapse

SPRINGFIELD -- The cash-strapped Illinois government may have to spend as much as $1.5 million to repair the roof of a jail in the northwestern region of the state.

No one was hurt in late November when a drywall ceiling inside the Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson collapsed. Illinois Department of Corrections spokesman Derek Schnapp says he doesn't know how long repairs will take.

Schnapp says the reconstruction could cost between $1 and $1.5 million.

The collapse occured in one of Thomson's minimum-security wings. The inmates housed there were transferred to the facility's mostly unused maximum-security areas.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants to close the Pontiac Correctional Center in central Illinois and move its inmates to Thomson.