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
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
25 Now Dead in Listeria Outbreak in Cantaloupe
WASHINGTON (AP) - Twenty-five deaths in 12 states are now linked to listeria in cantaloupe, the deadliest known outbreak of foodborne illness in the U.S. in more than 25 years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that 123 people have been sickened, including those who died. The tainted Colorado cantaloupes should be off store shelves by now. But the number of illnesses may continue to grow, as the symptoms of listeria can take up to two months to appear. The CDC on Tuesday confirmed a sixth death in Colorado and a second in New York. Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming have also reported deaths. Jensen Farms in Holly, Colo., recalled the cantaloupes last month. - http://goo.gl/aMKCo
Doctor Data Back Online in Illinois
CHICAGO (AP) - Illinois patients once again can use a public website to find out whether their doctors and chiropractors have shady histories. The Physician Profile became available Wednesday on the website for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. It allows consumers to see whether a doctor has been disciplined in Illinois or in another state. Malpractice judgments and settlements going back five years are posted. The searchable database was taken offline last year when the Illinois Supreme Court declared a medical malpractice reform law unconstitutional. A new law reinstated the database and gave doctors 60 days to review the information before the site went live. That review period has passed, allowing the comeback. The website drew more than 150,000 hits weekly before it went dark in 2010. - http://goo.gl/18gYz