Inmates continue to face commissary shortages

SPRINGFIELD - To Illinois prisoners, commissary is more than candy bars, shaving cream and socks. It represents normalcy and choice.

"It's everything to them," said Melly Rios, whose husband is in Stateville Correctional Center serving 45 years for murder.

A recent report from the John Howard Association, a prison watchdog group, detailed widespread supply shortages at Illinois Department of Corrections prison commissaries around the state. Soap, deodorant, detergent, writing materials, thermal shirts, socks, underwear and canned meat and noodles are all in short supply.

"It's not like luxury items like candy bars or the hot new Christmas gift. These commissaries provide items that are basic necessities," said Alan Mills, executive director of the Uptown People's Law Center.

An IDOC spokesperson wrote in an email that COVID-19 has affected global supply chains, leading to shortages. But the John Howard report released Monday points to a new vendor and a contentious bidding process.

Two weeks ago, IDOC distributed bags of food and hygiene items, toothpaste and brushes, into care packages to all inmates.

It's a nice short-term solution, Mills said. But with an agency facing staffing shortages and a pandemic, Mills said this should be an easy fix.

Under current security protocols, care packages from the public cannot be accepted at IDOC prisons. The John Howard Association put forth the suggestion to allow friends and family members of inmates to purchase care packages from already approved vendors so they could be shipped directly to inmates.

Rios told Capitol News Illinois in a phone call that she talks to her husband every day. He has lost weight because he is unable to get noodles and canned meat.

"I know many people may think that they are bad people, but if you are going to put them in there, you have to take care of them," Rios said. "I have to be his voice. It's the only one he has right now."