SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (IRN) -- The Illinois Department of Corrections is assessing exactly which prisoners are eligible for early release, with the program to begin in a few weeks.
The early release of 1,000 inmates is designed to save money. The cost of incarceration will be reduced by about $5 million, though the governor plans to boost funding for monitoring of these early-release prisoners by about $2 million.
Those released early will have to be non-violent offenders who are in the last year of their sentence. Once let out, they’ll be subject to electronic monitoring.
When the early releases will begin isn’t clear, though corrections observers say it’ll be near the end of this month or early November.
The union that represents prison guards says it’s a mistake to let prisoners out early, because funding for drug counseling and other support services has been cut.
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