Illinois

Statewide: Allegations of violence and abuse at the Thomson prison

NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS | By Sean Crawford

Published June 2, 2022 at 2:13 PM CDT

The prison in northwest Illinois was sold to the federal government. The plan was to ease overcrowding at other federal penitentiaries. But an investigation from NPR and the Marshall Project raised issues.

There are allegations that staff purposefully housed prisoners with people they knew would be violent, and subjected them to painful restraints for hours or sometimes days.

Several lawmakers say they want answers. We'll hear more about it on Statewide.

Our lineup:

* Darian Benson of Side Effects Public Media talks with an expert about using breast milk donors as the shortage of baby formula continues.

* NPR's Joseph Shapiro and the Marshall Project's Christie Thompson have a report on the Thomson federal prison.

* Kristen Schorsch of WBEZ has more on Illinois' policy regarding race and ethnicity data of abortion patients. Some say the release of that data could identify trends and help reduce disparities.

* Peter Medlin with WNIJ has details on a new learning model and how it has worked at a middle school in Rockford.

* Sarah Nardi with WGLT speaks with Illinois State University Professor Julie Webber, author of the boom Beyond Columbine. She has studied school shootings for more than 20 years.

* Yvonne Boose brings us the story of a former homeless shelter director who took her fight to Congress. And she didn't stop there.

* Harvest Public Media's Katie Peikes reports farmers in the Midwest are gearing up for a fight over whether pipelines can cut through their land.

* WTTW's Paris Schutz tells us the state is close to renaming the invasive Asian Carp. The plan is to make the fish more marketable to consumers.