CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) - Illinois prisons have not escaped the problems stemming from the state's late payment of its bills. Corrections officials insist the chronically late payments do not create security concerns. But the department's chief financial officer wrote a letter in June warning of "a big looming problem" if a food supplier halted deliveries. Bryan Gleckler asked the state comptroller to expedite a big payment to a vendor. He noted that food is the most important part of the day to inmates and a disruption would "create huge security concerns." Officials now downplay the warning. But a watchdog group says it also has seen problems with clothing, toothpaste and pesticides. In early September, the department had $39.3 million worth of unpaid bills that were at least a month old. Some were from November. - http://goo.gl/2CPzR
