From Businessweek.com
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- The Illinois Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a case that could determine whether inmates who have jobs in prison owe their income to the state to cover the costs of their incarceration.
Inmate Kensley Hawkins, 60, has saved about $11,000 during his 21 years in prison by squirreling away the $75 a month he makes as a furniture assembler. Now, the Illinois Department of Corrections wants him to turn over that money to help pay for the cost of housing him.
Under state law, the Illinois Department of Corrections can move to recover housing and other costs from inmates who report assets of more than $10,000, said David Simonton, an attorney for Hawkins. But those assets typically come from inheritances, pensions or some other windfall -- not the wages the inmates have earned in prison, and the source of Hawkins’ money is what makes his case unique, Simonton said.
If the state is allowed to take the income that inmates earn, they’ll be less inclined to get jobs in prison and gain the kinds of work experience that would help them upon their release from custody, Simonton said.
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