Chicago Magazine follows up their previous article about the "Unholy Alliance" of gangs and politicians with another piece about the "Prisoner Shuffle" that shows how politicos wield their power to get gun, drug and homicide offenders better accommodations in prison and even transfers to prisons closer to home - and their bases of operations:
Among the perquisites of political power, state lawmakers can use their legislative offices to make inquiries with the Illinois Department of Corrections on behalf of inmates who want to be moved to other prisons.
While many inquiries in support of transfers are legitimate—perhaps a well-behaved inmate wants to be closer to a sick or elderly family member who can’t travel long distances—several gang members and politicians we interviewed say that the perk is sometimes misused as a valuable favor that legislators offer gang leaders in exchange for their help.