Illinois is suing newly released prisoners for the cost of their room and board

Paroled prisoners in Illinois may find themselves back in court and on the hook for thousands of dollars, as the state has a growing habit of suing former inmates for the cost of their incarceration. But not every released prisoner is equally at risk: Illinois often targets those who have recently come into a little money — through an insurance settlement or an inheritance, for instance — and thus in theory have the ability to pay up.

In one story cited by the Chicago Tribune, an inmate received a $50,000 settlement from the Department of Corrections because his cancer was not properly treated in prison, only to have the department sue him for $175,000 for the cost of his care. In another, the department successfully extracted almost $20,000 from a man released after serving 15 months for a low-level drug offense; after paying, he had to live out of a homeless shelter and died penniless.

Critics suggest that the lawsuits make released inmates more likely to return to a life of crime. "If you don't have a way to support yourself, you go to the underground economy," said Alan Mills of the Uptown People's Law Center. "That's criminal, and you go back to prison. That's horrible public policy."

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