Gov. Quinn's early-release program suspended

Unknown to the public--until AP caught wind of it--at hundreds of Illinois prisoners were released from incarceration after just serving a fraction of their sentence.

Records obtained and analyzed by the AP showed that since September, more than 850 inmates had been released weeks earlier than they ordinarily would have been. The Corrections Department was saving money by abandoning a policy that requires inmates to serve at least 61 days and awarded them discretionary good-conduct credit immediately upon entering prison.

That means some prisoners had enough good-conduct days to qualify for release almost immediately — before they had a chance to demonstrate any conduct at all, good or bad. The inmates were kept at the department's prison processing centers and released after as few as 11 days.

So, Jorge Bogas spent just 18 days behind bars for aggravated driving under the influence after he hit two cars, hospitalizing one motorist for weeks, while driving the wrong direction on Interstate 57.

James Walker-Bey, sentenced to a year for violating probation for carrying a .25-caliber pistol in Alsip, Ill., was confined for just over two weeks —three days in Cook County and 14 at Stateville prison.

Quinn's predecessor and running mate, Rod Blagojevich, wrote smoke-and-mirrors budgets. The deception continues.

After publication of the AP report, Quinn suspended the early-release program.

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