© 2024 WNIJ and WNIU
Northern Public Radio
801 N 1st St.
DeKalb, IL 60115
815-753-9000
Northern Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

State Of Illinois Sues Former Prisoner For Incarceration Costs

flickr user / Michael Coghlan "Prison Bars" (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The State of Illinois is suing a former prisoner for more than $100,000 to cover the cost of her own incarceration. 

In a lawsuit filed last week, the state puts the cost of Yolanda Fondren’s prison time for attempted armed violence at about $23,000 per year.

And it says they believe Fondren has a bank account with at least $200,000 in it.

“To take someone in that situation who may be doing well, and destroying them financially, really wiping them out, has the potential to undermine any hope for rehabilitation,” David Shapiro, a law professor at Northwestern University, said.

A spokeswoman for the Illinois Attorney General says they sue former inmates, about 10 times per year, whenever the department of corrections refers them.

A prison spokeswoman refused to comment on the lawsuit or provide any information about why they would sue a former inmate.

Yolanda Fondren could not be reached for comment.

Related Stories