One of the areas in Illinois government that has long had a bunch of cockroaches hiding in the dark is the Corrections Department. In 1999 that changed a great deal when George Ryan appointed Don Snyder. Snyder put an end to the inmates running the prison system. It was so bad in some facilities that some areas were painted with gang colors. Discipline for inmates and guards were non-existent and peace was largely maintained by buying off gangs with privileges. There is a lot of dirt there for an enterprising reporter to dig up. Snyder put an end to that and reformed the system in pretty damn record time.
For those who wonder how bad it could be remember, Richard Speck, a convicted serial killer, receiving illegal hormones to grow breasts, having a cocaine party with some pals and having a video recorder to tape the whole thing. But that wasn’t the real scandal, the real scandal was how quickly Edgar quashed the investigations into the prison system.
There is nothing dark about his replacement, Ernesto Velasco. It appears he is competent and should maintain a reasonable level of professionalism in the DOC. Snyder deserves praise for his service to the State of Illinois.
Snyder was a fucking dick who thought his state power was his power. He’s going to get his own yet….
blagojevich would do better than edgar i take it???