The state of Illinois already has a prison system with 49,000 inmates with a history of overcrowding.

The population of prisons could grow even faster if any one of a number of bills that “get tough on crime” pass the legislature. But this year the Illinois Department of Corrections is coming out against those plans. IDOC’s Michael Lane says the prison system is already too full and taxed to protect both inmates and guards.

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There is second way to examine the problem of overcrowding – Governor Bruce Rauner has created a justice reform commission to examine criminal penalties and sentencing. Currently the prison system has 17,000 more inmates than what it was designed for.