Legislator to tour Illinois prison, concerned about drug-laced paper for inmates

(The Center Square) – An Illinois state representative plans to tour a prison to investigate how they’re handling paper potentially laced with drugs.

State Rep. Adam Niemerg, R-Dieterich, said he’s hearing concerning stories from prison staff about dangerous substances being smuggled into the state’s prison system. It started with Lawrence Correctional Center, where he said paper correspondence for inmates is sometimes laced with dangerous drugs.

“And the employees are opening that and inhaling that substance and having to be sent to the hospital,” Niemerg told The Center Square.

The Illinois Department of Corrections didn’t immediately respond to questions about roughly how many staff and/or inmates have had bad experiences after being exposed to such drug-laced paper coming into prisons.

“It’s a very, very serious issue because the inmates are taking that substance, rolling it and then smoking it on that correspondence coming in,” Niemerg said.

He said he plans to tour a corrections facility early next month. The solution to the problem is clear, he said.

“They have [tablet computers],” Niemerg said. “Just make a copy of that correspondence. Have that correspondence then go via [tablet computers] to the inmate and it would solve this issue.”

But, there is some resistance Niemerg said he’s hearing about that idea.

“The individual that I spoke with just a few days ago told me that they were told by somebody in Springfield with the Department of Corrections that the inmates must feel that piece of paper in order to feel the love of whomever sent them that correspondence, which we think is absolutely ridiculous,” he said.

If digitizing the correspondence isn’t in the cards, Niemerg said there has to be consequences for inmates found in possession of laced papers.

“Well, penalize that inmate. Take away privileges,” he said.