By Edith Brady-Lunny
The Pantagraph
LINCOLN — An inmate at Logan Correctional Center must pay almost $20,000 toward the the cost of his time behind bars from a financial settlement he received in a lawsuit.
In February 2013, the Department of Corrections filed paperwork to collect $19,925.89 from Johnnie Melton, 49, an inmate from Cook County housed at the Lincoln facility on drug charges.
The Fourth District Appellate Court recently denied his challenge of the order to pay the state from money he received in a wrongful death lawsuit involving his mother. The initial ruling against Melton was handed down by Associate Judge Bill Yoder of the 11th Judicial Circuit that covers Logan, McLean and several other area counties.
The state’s claim covers the cost of keeping Melton behind bars from Oct. 28, 2011 to Jan. 8, 2013. He is currently incarcerated on a drug charge, his 11th felony among offenses dating back to 1983.
State law allows the Department of Corrections to forward information about potential inmate assets to the Illinois Attorney General, who can file paperwork requesting the prisoner help pay prison costs.
The average, annual cost of keeping an inmate in prison in Illinois is $21,000; the cost is higher for those in specialized drug treatment programs, according to IDOC.
Commenting on the ability of the state to collect money from financially-able inmates, IDOC spokesman Tom Shaer said, “IDOC acts in accordance with Illinois state law on these matters, and only in appropriate situations.”
In its ruling in the Logan County case, the appellate court said “the goal of requiring reimbursement seeks to shift the economic burden of incarceration from the public to the prisoner.”
The timing of the petition seeking control of an inmate’s money takes into consideration new technology, the appellate court noted.
“The opportunity to conceal funds is heightened in the digital age, where assets can be transferred anywhere in the world at the click of a mouse,” said the ruling.
Melton complained he was denied due process because he did not receive advance notice the state wanted to take control of his money.
The court also ruled that Melton’s complaints that living conditions at the prison are “squalid and unsafe” does not exempt him from paying back the state.