Report: 'Serious flaws' in state's prison-release program

SPRINGFIELD -- A Quinn administration program of quietly granting early release to prison inmates suffered from "serious flaws," including a failure to notify local police when prisoners were sent home, according to a review released Friday.

The review, conducted by a former appellate judge and two aides to Gov. Pat Quinn, also says it was a mistake for the Corrections Department to abandon its unwritten policy of requiring prisoners to serve 61 days before being granted time off for good behavior.

Judge David Erickson, head of the review panel, said the department must take action "that will restore the public's trust," according to a news release the governor's office issued in advance of the full report.

Under the now-canceled early release program, inmates were given time off as soon as they walked through the prison doors. Some were released after serving just a few days behind bars, weeks earlier than they would have been sent home in the past.

Quinn canceled MGT Push -- named for the "meritorious good time" that was granted to prisoners -- after The Associated Press revealed the program's existence last fall.

By then, some 1,700 inmates had been granted early release. That number includes hundreds of prisoners with records of violence.

For instance, one prisoner was convicted of drunken driving after going the wrong way on an interstate, hitting two cars and sending one person to the hospital. He spent five days in county jail, 13 in state prison and then was released under MGT Push.

Quinn did not attend the Chicago news conference where Erickson's report was released.

The Democratic governor has placed most of the blame on Corrections chief Michael Randle, saying Randle was not supposed to include violent offenders in the program. Quinn added two new officials at the department -- a chief public safety officer and a liaison to the governor's office -- to help prevent further problems and overhaul the agency.

The new report calls for that public safety officer, rather than the director, to control any future programs offering time off for good behavior.

The report also says the problems with MGT Push were compounded by the Corrections Department's outdated computer system. The department was using 39 different and unconnected computer systems, and its system for tracking offenders had not been updated in a decade.

The review panel called for the Corrections Department to establish a system for electronically notifying local law enforcement when an inmate is released so police and past crime victims can prepare for any potential threat.

MGT Push was a major issue in the Democratic primary race for governor, and it may plan an important role in the general election, too. Republican nominee Sen. Bill Brady often accuses Quinn of endangering public safety by mishandling early release.