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Cook County Jail
Cook, Illinois
Aramark
May 4, 2010 Sun Times
A cook assigned to bring food to Cook County Jail was sentenced to two years probation today after he pleaded guilty to bringing marijuana into the facility. Last fall, Cook County investigators received a tip that Ivan Garcia, 22, had been smuggling marijuana and tobacco into the jail. At the time of his arrest in October, Garcia worked as Aramark’s supervisor of cooks. Aramark provides food services at the jail, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office. Garcia allegedly accepted cash payments from a friend or family member of the inmate, then smuggled the contraband in and delivered it to the inmate while working in the cafeteria.

October 30, 2009 Daily Herald
A Cook County Jail cook has been charged with smuggling marijuana into the jail for an inmate. Cook County sheriff's police said Ivan Garcia, 22, of Huntley, was paid by a relative or friend of an inmate to smuggled pot and tobacco into the jail and deliver it while working in the jail cafeteria. After receiving a tip about Garcia, an undercover operation was conducted by the sheriff's internal affairs division. On Oct. 16, an undercover officer approached Garcia and, in a videotape, he's shown accepting $500 in exchange for smuggling an ounce of marijuana into the jail, the sheriff's office said. After the transaction, Garcia was arrested, authorities said. He's been charged with felony possession of cannabis with intent to deliver, and is free on $30,000 bond. Garcia works as supervisor of cooks for Aramark, a jail contractor.

April 4, 2007 Sun Times
"I'm not going to be a minority front for anybody," declared Chicago businessman Harold Davis. Who asked you to? "Mike Maltese," answered Davis. Davis, the solitary figure you see in the picture, standing alone in a big empty South Side warehouse, called after I'd written about the FBI paying a visit last month to fired Cook County employee Paula Perkins. Perkins' job was to make sure firms like Davis' that applied for lucrative county contracts were run by actual minorities and were not just fronts for thick-necked white guys, a time-honored tradition in these parts. Perkins' axing, some believe, was the result of her doing her job too well. "I know her," Davis told me. "Ms. Perkins' job was to prove that I was not phony." And that she did. After a 14-month evaluation and inspection of his operation, Perkins certified Davis' company, American Enterprise Food Service, as a bona fide African-American business. She reaffirmed that Monday, saying, "When I saw it, it was full of merchandise . . . people were in there working." Perkins' certification paved the way for Davis to win an 18 percent share of $62 million in contracts to supply commissary products (chips, underwear, paper products) to inmates at Cook County Jail. The main contractor, Aramark Correctional Services Inc., is part of a multinational, multibillion-dollar corporation that services 475 prisons across North America, including Cook County jail. It's a Fortune 500 company with a reputation for racial diversity. Davis begs to differ. He claims that Aramark's account executives based in Oakbrook Terrace didn't want a minority partner at all. "They wanted a minority front," he told me as we walked through his empty warehouse on Monday. Exactly who told you that? "Mike Maltese did," he said, referring to Aramark's district manager who has since been transferred to its Kentucky division. Any relation to imprisoned Cicero Town President Betty Loren-Maltese? Not that there's anything wrong with that. Davis said Maltese conceded he was her nephew, but didn't want to talk about it. Maltese did not return my phone calls. Company spokeswoman Sarah Jarvis Tuesday told me, "Aramark does not discuss personnel or contract matters, but we conduct our business with utmost integrity and according to the highest ethical standards." Davis wants to argue that point. He says his contract began in February of 2006 and that from the beginning, the Aramark guys did all the purchasing, hiring and running of the warehouse. Davis said he expected, after a brief training period, that he would take over all of those responsibilities. "I started asking questions," he said. "When was I going to take over the warehouse?" Never, was the the answer he says he got. Maltese, claims Davis, offered him $17,000 a month in "free money" to be a "pass through . . . a dummy company," Maltese allegedly preferring to have one of his own guys do the actual running of his operation. Davis said he told Maltese no. And that, he says, is when, in the summer of 2006, Aramark pulled its merchandise out of his warehouse and stopped paying the rent. The county, however, is still paying Aramark on that contract, though Davis gets none of it. Aramark's spokeswoman said the company couldn't release specifics but terminated the deal "for legitimate business reasons." All of this makes me want to talk to Betty Hancock Perry. Hancock Perry is the head of Contract Compliance, one of the many county departments the feds are currently crawling all over. It was Hancock Perry who fired Paula Perkins earlier this year. And Hancock Perry to whom Davis reported his problems with Aramark, according to letters and memos I've seen. My request Tuesday to interview her was turned down by County Board President Todd Stroger, who issued a statement saying he referred my inquiries to his inspector general but would not "compel any employee to speak publicly about this ongoing investigation." We await the results. I wonder, though, if the FBI's next visit won't be to an empty warehouse on the Far South Side.

October 22, 2004 Sun Times
Aramark, accused of using politics to secure the food service contract at the Cook County Jail, will likely hang onto the contract because it is the low bidder. Bids were opened Thursday and they showed Aramark will charge about 75 cents per meal, compared with 99 cents from Amerimeals and Compass -- which accused Aramark of playing politics last month.

September 14, 2004 Sun Times
A lucrative Cook County contract is being extended three months, as county officials debate how much political patronage has influenced the contract process. Aramark will continue to provide food at the county jail, at a rate of $856,000 a month, while county officials seek bids for a new contract. Aramark signed a $39 million contract in 2000, but with increases, the contract is now worth more than $43 million. Last month, as the contract came up for bid, an Aramark competitor -- Compass, a division of Canteen -- claimed the bid process was rife with troubles, including the influence of politics, and backed out of the bid process, leaving Aramark as the only qualified bidder for another contract. Aramark hired John Robinson and contracted with John Maul, both former aides to Sheriff Michael Sheahan, and Compass claims they influenced the bid process. Compass also said it was denied records and access to information needed to submit a bid. Campaign finance records show Aramark and its many divisions since 2000 have contributed $11,240 to county officials, including commissioners and Sheahan.  

August 27, 2004
With allegations lingering that the fix was in, Cook County officials were set to open bids Thursday on a $50 million food service contract at the county jail.  But when only one company -- Aramark -- submitted a proper bid, county officials said they weren't even opening it, instead opting to re-bid the contract in hopes of attracting more companies.  Fat chance, at least one of Aramark's competitors said, as Compass Group -- a division of Canteen -- alleges that Aramark has hired enough cronies of Sheriff Michael Sheahan that it is sure to lock up the contract. Both Sheahan and Aramark deny these allegations and Sheahan encouraged Compass to sit down and discuss its concerns with the county.  Aramark holds the contract now, but is accused by Compass of creating unsanitary food conditions at the jail, attracting rodents and airborne disease by leaving food out for several hours before serving inmates. Compass also alleged, in a letter sent last week to county officials, that as it tried to get records to prepare a bid, it was rebuffed time and again.  (Sun Times)

August 24, 2004
A Cook County Board commissioner called on his fellow commissioners Monday to block a $50 million contract for jail food until allegations of bias are resolved.  Chicago Democrat Forrest Claypool made the demand Monday after Crain's Chicago Business reported that a competitor for the contract accused the sheriff's office of not giving it information necessary to bid. The contractor, Canteen Correctional Services, is competing against Aramark Correctional Services, which employs two former top aides to Sheriff Michael Sheahan and may end up being the only bidder for the job. 
(Daily Herald)

August 22, 2004
A firm that had hoped to oust a politically connected competitor on a huge Cook County contract instead is pulling out of the bidding — complaining of "flawed and biased" county procurement procedures.  In a blunt letter to Sheriff Michael Sheahan and other county officials Friday, Canteen Correctional Services says it will be unable to bid for an estimated $50-million pact to feed inmates at the Cook County Jail because officials haven't given it the data it needs to compete, despite repeated requests.  That means incumbent contract-holder Aramark Correctional Services may face no opposition for a new four-year pact on Thursday, when Mr. Sheahan, who operates the jail, and other officials are due to open bids.  Aramark employs Mr. Sheahan's former top aide, John Robinson, as a lobbyist and vice-president. Mr. Robinson resigned as undersheriff in December 2000, days after revelations that he used sheriff's office stationary to promote a British Virgin Islands-based company that ran an alleged investment scam. He faces the potential suspension or loss of his license as a lawyer over that matter, with a state disciplinary hearing set for Oct. 5.  Aramark also this month retained as a consultant another top ex-aide to Mr. Sheahan, John Maul. He was acting executive director of the jail until last summer.  Aramark, a division of Philadelphia-based Aramark Corp., and Canteen are giants in the food-service industry. They've clashed repeatedly around the country, including in Chicago, where U.K.-based Compass' Levy Restaurants unit has held off Aramark for the food contract at McCormick Place.  Still, Compass' Cook County letter is notable for its language and specificity.  The letter also asserts that Aramark's operating procedures are "questionable to any industry standard." For instance, "hot" meals for inmates sit on racks as long as three hours before they're delivered to be eaten, the letter alleges. "Improper storage of food was observed continually" during a site tour and "pest control issues exist," it says.  Aramark, a division of Philadelphia-based Aramark Corp., and Canteen are giants in the food-service industry. They've clashed repeatedly around the country, including in Chicago, where U.K.-based Compass' Levy Restaurants unit has held off Aramark for the food contract at McCormick Place.  Still, Compass' Cook County letter is notable for its language and specificity.  Under its current contract, Aramark provides meals at slightly more than 77 cents a serving, according to Mr. Stroger's spokeswoman. That's well under the average of $1.01 the Illinois Department of Corrections spends just to purchase food. The Compass letter implies that Aramark may have cut costs through lowered standards and deferred maintenance.  (Chicago Business)

Cornell Interventions
Wauconda, Illinois
Cornell Companies
December 29, 2006 Lake County News-Sun
Two teenage girls who escaped from Cornell Interventions in unincorporated Wauconda shortly before 2 a.m. Thursday were both charged with possession of a stolen vehicle after attempting to elude police in a chase. Lake County Sheriff's Office deputies were dispatched to the at-risk youth facility to search the grounds for the two runaways, but found no leads at the time. The two females found an unattended 2001 maroon GMC Jimmy at Sweeney's gas station on Miller Road and Route 12 with the keys in the vehicle. "At approximately 1:50 a.m., the two juveniles were called in as runaways from the juvenile detention for at-risk youth," said sheriff's Sgt. Christopher Thompson. The owner of the GMC Jimmy was believed to be in the gas station making a purchase at the time of the vehicle theft and may have left the vehicle running. Lake Zurich police received a call shortly after 5 a.m. Thursday with a report from the driver that the vehicle was stolen. "A vehicle was reported stolen and our department was made aware of it and located the vehicle," said Lake Zurich Police Cmdr. Kevin Finlon. Police discovered the vehicle containing the 14- and 15-year-old females at the intersection of Route 12 and Wooded Ridge.

Crete, Illinois
CCA
January 23, 2012 Chicago Tribune
A small south suburb has quietly been working with federal officials on a plan to build an immigration lockup of up to 700 beds, placing the semirural town in the middle of a national debate. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has selected Crete as the potential site for an immigration detention center — one of seven locations nationwide chosen for such a facility, as the agency consolidates its detention centers and deports illegal immigrants at a record pace. Crete would hire a private company to build and manage the facility of 500 to 700 beds if the plans evolve into a federal contract with the village, Mayor Michael Einhorn said. Officials from Crete, ICE and the private company, Corrections Corporation of America, say the detention center plan is not a done deal. But officials from all three have been talking privately since at least 2010, according to records obtained by the Tribune through the Freedom of Information Act. Crete leaders have traveled to Washington twice and toured another CCA facility in Kansas, records show. Emails indicate a contract on the proposed site of the detention center has been in effect since at least April. Some Crete residents, angered by what they call a lack of transparency, have been organizing since word of the proposed detention center leaked late last year. Yard signs scattered throughout the town — with a slash through the words "Crete detention center" — signal the feelings of many. Village officials maintain that they haven't discussed the proposal publicly because nothing is concrete.

DuPage County Jail
DuPage County, Illinois
Aramark, A'viands
January 13, 2010 Daily Herald
Debra Olson painted a giant target on her back in the shape of a dollar sign when she announced she'd hold herself to a higher campaign finance standard in her bid to win the Republican nod in the DuPage County Board Chairman's race. The District 4 board member said she won't accept money from people or companies that do business with the county when she announced her candidacy. Since then, two of her opponents and their supporters have attacked Olson, complaining she was "hypocritical" about campaign finance reform and that she lined her war chest with ill-gotten dollars before taking the campaign-funding high road. Olson denies any wrongdoing and blasted state Sen. Dan Cronin and state Sen. Carole Pankau for the accusations. "They can't win on the issues so they go for a smear campaign," Olson, who is a current District 4 board member said. Both state senators attacked Olson for accepting campaign donations from food vendor Aramark while voting in 2007 and 2008 on a $1 million contract to provide meals at the county jail for a year. The contract eventually went to Minnesota-based A'viands Food & Services Management. "I voted consistently for A'viands and gave donations back to Aramark," Olson said. Cronin's camp also said they tallied more than $20,000 worth of campaign donations from companies or people that do business with the county in Olson's coffers over the years, including donations as late as May, 2009.

September 24, 2008 Naperville Sun
Inmates of the DuPage County Jail finally have permanent food service after 18 months of wrangling by competing companies ARAMARK and A'viands. A'Viands was issued a $792,585.92 contract on Tuesday by the DuPage County Board to provide meals to inmates and officers from Oct. 23 to Oct. 22, 2009. The company emerged as the lowest responsible bidder after the contract was sent out for a fourth bid. It's been vying for the contract ever since March 2007, when the first bid was thrown out because of accusations by ARAMARK that A'viands' winning menu did not meet requirements. A'viands has been serving meals at the jail throughout the bidding process, under temporary contracts approved by a county committee. Before that, ARAMARK had fed the inmates for 21 years.

August 22, 2008 Naperville Sun
Inmates of the DuPage County Jail may finally have permanent food service after 18 months of wrangling by competing companies ARAMARK and A'viands. For a fourth time, the companies are bidding for a yearlong contract to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner at the jail. They've been vying for the contract ever since March 2007, when the first bid was awarded to A'viands and thrown out because of accusations by ARAMARK that the winning menu did not meet requirements. Along with another company officials declined to name, both ARAMARK and A'viands agreed Monday to bid on two menus approved by a professional nutritionist. All three companies have until the first week of September to submit prices on one or both of the menus and the lowest bidder will be chosen.

May 29, 2008 Reporter Met
For the fourth time in about a year, the DuPage County Board has extended a temporary contract for food service at the county jail. After Tuesday’s County Board meeting, Chairman Robert Schillerstrom expressed frustration that the process has dragged on for so long. But board member Michael McMahon, R-3rd District, of Hinsdale, who heads the board’s Judicial and Public Safety Committee, said the county should be able to award a long-term contract by the end of June. By the numbers -- $850,000 Annual cost of original contract -- $1.3 million Approximate cost of temporary contracts -- 53 percent increase The board decided in February to open a fourth round of bidding for the food-service contract and extended the temporary contract through May 31. The new extension runs through Aug. 31, but McMahon said the matter should be settled well before then. A’viands, a Minnesota-based company, has been serving food at the jail under a temporary contract since last June. The contract has been under dispute since May 2007, when it was put out for bidding. A’viands was originally awarded the contract, but it was voided after another bidder, Philadelphia-based ARAMARK, objected that A’viands’ bid did not meet nutritional requirements. The original contract with A’viands would have cost the county about $850,000 for a year of food service. The new temporary contract will total about $1.3 million if a long-term deal is not reached before Aug. 31. “Simply put, the County Board can’t make up their mind on (the contract),” Schillerstrom said. “It should have been done a long time ago. There’s no reason for this to have dragged on for so long.” After a second round of bidding, bids by both companies were thrown out because they failed to meet nutritional requirements. For the third round, the county hired a nutritionist to create a menu with which all bidders were required to comply. ARAMARK’s bid of 91.9 cents per meal was slightly lower than A’viands’ bid of 92.5 cents, but county staff members recommended the contract be awarded to A’viands because ARAMARK strayed from the menu, county officials said. To avoid the confusion over nutritional requirements, the county is taking a new approach for the fourth round of bidding, McMahon said. Rather than requiring bidders to conform to a set menu, each company will be allowed to submit up to three menus, he said. A dietitian hired by the county will then review each menu and determine if it meets nutritional standards. The companies will then be allowed to bid on any of the approved menus, including those submitted by their competitors, and the contract will be awarded to the lowest bidder, McMahon said. “I think this is going to prove to be a good approach,” he said. “It should all be over within the next month.”

May 8, 2008 Naperville Sun
Maybe DuPage County Board members got it right the first time they opened competition for a contract to serve food to some 850 County Jail inmates. They approved a fourth round of bidding Tuesday that is almost identical to the original bid more than a year ago. While board members hope this bid will end a long feud between companies Aramark and A'viands over the contract, some say it will lead to even more contention. This time, bidding companies may submit up to three menus to the county, which will then be either approved or rejected by a certified nutritionist. The bidders may then submit prices on any of the approved menus and the lowest bidder will be chosen. The Judicial and Public Safety Committee has conducted and thrown out three bids during the past year. As members tried adding more specific nutrition requirements and then specific menu requirements, Aramark and A'viands either failed to meet standards or raised objections to each other. But committee member Jim Healy of Naperville said allowing bidders to select from a pool of approved menus may just lead to more conflict. "Then you have two parties arguing about fish cakes versus fish patties, orange juice versus orange drink," Healy said. But the county could save money by allowing bidders to select from a pool of approved menus, said DuPage CFO Fred Backfield. "(This) allows a vendor to choose another menu they could make cheaper," Backfield said. As the bidding process drags on, A'viands continues to feed inmates under an extended temporary contract that was first awarded last July. Before that contract, Aramark had serviced the jail for 21 years.

February 24, 2008 Naperville Sun
A company hoping to win another contract at the DuPage County Jail has donated thousands of dollars to elected county officials. Aramark, a Philadelphia-based company that has provided the jail's food service for 21 years, has poured $14,770 into campaign coffers of State's Attorney Joe Birkett, Sheriff John Zaruba, County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom and others since 1999, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections. County Board members Brien Sheahan, Debra Olson and Mike McMahon have received several hundred dollars each. In a bidding process fraught with ambiguity and conflict, Aramark has been fighting for more than a year to continue serving food to jail inmates. When the bid was redone for the third time in December, the company submitted a $949,616 bid that was $6,000 lower than that of its competitor, Minnesota-based A'viands. But after the state's attorney's office said Aramark submitted a menu that didn't meet requirements, officials recommended the bid be awarded to A'viands. Aramark's menu diverged slightly by offering breaded fish patties rather than the specified fish fillets and 12-ounce instead of 8-ounce oatmeal servings, Assistant State's Attorney Tom Downing said. Potential savings -- However, County Board members are giving Aramark another shot at the contract, opting for a fourth bid instead of awarding the contract to A'viands. They say the county can save thousands of dollars by changing bidding requirements. Instead of stipulating a specific menu, board members want to mandate only certain nutritional requirements, as was done during the second round of bidding. Allowing bidders to submit their own menu resulted in a bid from Aramark that was $120,000 less than when it followed a menu mandated by the county. That cost difference is enough to justify yet another bid, said Sheahan, calling the whole process "ridiculous." "We're basically having a $120,000 argument over whether milk and oatmeal will fit on a tray, and I think we owe it to taxpayers to make sure we are getting the best value for their money," he said. "We're not interested in spending extra every year so people at the County Jail can eat fish fillets instead of fish sticks." Nothing to hide -- Sheahan said a $500 contribution from Aramark to his primary campaign had nothing to do with his support for a fourth bid. "I really don't care whether Aramark gets it or not," he said. "I want the lowest bid to get it. I think the interest of the committee is just to get the best value for taxpayers." Saying she believes Aramark has submitted responsible bids, Olson, of Wheaton, said she supports a fourth bid to potentially save the $120,000. "This is about saving taxpayers money," said Olson, who noted that she has supported extending the temporary contracts to A'viands. "Any implications that my motivations are other than in the best interests of taxpayers is insulting." Birkett, who has received $3,600 from Aramark, said the campaign contributions played no role in the opinion rendered by his office, which ruled Aramark's bid noncompliant. "If I'm asked for opinion or legal guidance, I give it, free from any political support I've received," Birkett said. The recipient of $4,500 from Aramark, Schillerstrom sided with the state's attorney, saying Aramark failed to meet the menu requirements. "I believe A'viands is the lowest responsible bidder," he said. "I think it's clear that Aramark did not comply with the bid." Zaruba did not return a phone call seeking comment. Nutrition requirements -- Disputes about nutrition requirements have plagued the bidding process, which began last March. After the county declared A'viands the winner of the first bid, Aramark filed a lawsuit claiming its submitted menus were deficient. Schillerstrom upheld the protest, finding that both companies failed to meet requirements and declared a second round of bidding. For the second bid, the county outlined more specific nutrition standards. But both companies fell short, saying it was impossible to meet sodium requirements. In the third bid, the county hired a nutritionist to create a specific menu. While A'viands said the menu gave clear and specific requirements, Aramark disagreed. "It was crystal clear to us that we were to submit a menu that exactly met those requirements, and that's what we did," said Perry Rynders, CEO of A'viands. Rynders expressed "significant disappointment" at the county's decision to hold another bid, saying no one had disputed that A'viands did meet requirements. Temporary contract -- To keep prison inmates fed, the county has issued a string of temporary contracts to A'viands since July. But it's difficult to attract and hire good workers at the jail while the contract remains in limbo, Rynders said. "It's very difficult for us to find staff to work on a temporary basis," he said. "Each time this comes up, they're wondering if their job is on the line. I don't think the County Board understands how difficult this is on us." Aramark spokesman Tim Elliot said the county should return to a nutrition-based bid instead of one based on a menu. That is standard procedure for most of the 700 correctional facilities the company services worldwide, he said. Aramark is a private company that is the 19th-largest employer on the Fortune 500, employing 240,000 workers in 19 countries. Hospitals, eldercare centers, schools, corporations and sports stadiums are among the company's clients. Board member Jim Healy of Naperville agreed with Aramark that the county's "ambiguous" menu should be thrown out in favor of nutritional requirements. "We don't care what you serve as long as you meet the nutritional standards," he said. The county should have stuck with very basic nutritional requirements as it had done until last year, said board member Jim Zay. "This is insane ... the more people we get involved, the worse it gets," Zay said. "This has been costing us hundreds of thousands more because we've been screwing around with it."

Evanston Hospital
Evanston, Illinois
Aramark
July 7, 2010 Evanston-Review
An on-site food services worker is charging that her employers, Evanston Hospital and Aramark Services, allowed co-workers to repeatedly harass and discriminate her despite her pleas to management for help. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, Yaffa Washington, a member of a Hebrew Israelite sect who was born in Israel, said she was hired by Evanston Hospital in 2004 and soon thereafter began working for Aramark Services, on location at the hospital, 2650 Ridge Ave. Washington, an African-American, charges in her lawsuit that she was subjected to offensive racist and and anti-Semitic slurs, including references to her as the “Jew Girl,” soon after after she began working for Aramark. The lawsuit alleges that soon after informing Aramark officials that she was contemplating filing an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charge if the harassment didn't stop – in what her lawsuit describes as “unlawful retaliation against her for engaging in legally protected activity” – Washington was fired. Aramark could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon. A spokeswoman for the hospital said Wednesday that the hospital had not been served notice of such a lawsuit and so could not comment.

Illinois Department of Corrections
Addus, Aramark, Wexford
January 6, 2009 The Pantagraph
Unionized health care workers at 27 Illinois prisons are mulling whether to go on strike over wages. The 350-plus workers are employed by Wexford Health Sources of Pennsylvania, which recently received a two-year, $210 million extension in its contract to provide health care to inmates within the state's sprawling prison system. The health care workers represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union say they want a wage increase similar to a 4 percent boost the union recently inked with a different prison health care contractor. ''Wexford should not have any difficulty meeting the pay and benefit levels of its competitors,'' AFSCME spokesman Buddy Maupin said Monday. The company, which has given embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich $38,000 in campaign contributions since he took office, did not immediately respond to questions. The Illinois Department of Corrections said the matter, for now, is between the company and the union. ''We hope they come to an agreement,'' said Corrections spokesman Derek Schnapp. It isn't the first time AFSCME has tangled with Wexford. Three years ago, union workers threatened to strike, raising the possibility that management-level health care workers would have to provide care to inmates. State officials averted the 2005 strike by firing Wexford and bringing in a new company. Wexford eventually was re-hired and received an extension to its contract in late December worth an additional $5 million over its previous deal.

July 30, 2008 AP
Fighting back tears and apologizing to his teenage daughters, the former head of the Illinois prison system was sentenced to two years in federal prison Wednesday for taking payoffs from lobbyists. ''What I did was absolutely wrong,'' said Donald Snyder, who admitted pocketing $50,000 from lobbyists when he was director of the Illinois Department of Corrections. He said he hoped his conviction on the charges would not bias employers against his daughters when they grow up and look for jobs. ''I'm sorry, girls,'' he said, turning to the bench where they were sitting. As he tried to finish his statement, his face turned dark red, he grimaced and was unable to speak. Judge James B. Zagel chastised Snyder, who pleaded guilty, volunteered to be a federal witness, secretly recorded corrupt conversations and testified at the trial of one of the lobbyists. ''I didn't believe much of your testimony and I didn't believe much of your testimony because of your claimed lack of memory,'' Zagel told him. He said Snyder diminished the stature of government officials by setting a terrible example and making people doubt their integrity. ''You hear over and over against that all government officials are corrupt,'' said Zagel, a one-time Illinois law enforcement director. Zagel brushed aside letters from Snyder's neighbors in downstate Pittsfield, vouching for him as someone well liked in the community. ''You should have stayed in Pittsfield,'' Zagel said. Snyder admitted that he took $30,000 from Larry Sims, a lobbyist for two vendors. He said he pocketed up to $20,000 from two other lobbyists, former Cook County undersheriff John Robinson and Michael J. Mahoney. Sims and Robinson have pleaded guilty. Mahoney was acquitted in a bench trial before Zagel who said he didn't believe Snyder's testimony. The case drew the spotlight not only because of Snyder's position but because Mahoney had lobbied the prison system while executive director of the John Howard Association, a prison reform organization. At his trial, Mahoney admitted what he had done but argued that whatever the ethical lapses, he simply had not done anything illegal. Zagel agreed, though he said the defense was ''inherently unattractive.''

July 20, 2007 Sun Times
The former director of the Illinois Department of Corrections was indicted Thursday for allegedly taking $50,000 in illegal kickbacks to hand out state contracts to favored companies, including $20,000 in bribes from the former undersheriff of Cook County. The former undersheriff, John Robinson, who left his job under a cloud, had a side job as a lobbyist for companies such as Addus Health Care of Palatine, trying to get them state business. He succeeded in getting Addus a contract providing health-care services in Illinois prisons in part because he bribed then-state Corrections Director Donald Snyder with $20,000, according to the indictment. $30,000 in alleged bribes - "Addus Health Care has not had a relationship with Robinson for several years, is not accused of any wrongdoing, didn't know the alleged activity was taking place, and is assisting authorities every step of the way," said Dave Bayless, a company spokesman. Addus is referred to as "Company A" in the indictment. Also indicted Thursday was Larry Sims, a lobbyist who allegedly gave Snyder $30,000 in bribes so state business could go to an unnamed Pennsylvania health-care company. Snyder, 52, of Downstate Pittsfield, was director of the state prisons under former Gov. George Ryan, from 1999 until 2003. Thursday's indictments grew out of the Operation Safe Road probe of corruption in the Ryan administration. Robinson, 59, of Barrington Hills, was undersheriff of Cook County from 1991 until 2000. He resigned amid a grand jury probe of him allegedly using his undersheriff stationery to solicit business for a British Virgin Islands-based company that ran an alleged investment scam. He was never charged. Robinson was undersheriff for part of the time he allegedly passed money -- in increments, totaling $20,000 -- to Snyder. 5 counts of mail fraud - "John is in a proper manner facing his charges. He will do what is right," Robinson's lawyer, George Collins, said. Robinson is currently unemployed, Collins said. Sims, 58, of Downstate Pleasant Plains, was a lobbyist for several vendors, including the Pennsylvania company. Snyder and Robinson were each charged with five counts of mail fraud. Sims was charged with one count of perjury for allegedly lying to the grand jury during the investigation. Attorneys for Snyder and Sims could not be reached for comment. [Indictment is at www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/pr/chicago/2007/pr0719_02.pdf ] [US Attorney Press Release]

August 25, 2006 The New Mexican
Santa Fe County has interviewed four people who applied to be the new jail administrator. One high-profile candidate, however, took her name out of the hat just before interviews were slated to begin Thursday. Ann Casey, a lobbyist and Illinois jail official embroiled in controversy over her relationship with state Corrections Secretary Joe Williams, had applied for the job along with five others. Casey canceled her interview Thursday and said she no longer wanted to be considered for the job, according to Assistant County Attorney Carolyn Glick. Casey was in the news in New Mexico when the state put Williams on unpaid leave and launched an investigation. Officials looked into his relationship with the woman, including use of his work cell phone and other expenses after the Albuquerque Journal reported billing records for his state cell phone showed 644 calls between the two over five months. Williams returned to work and is on probation following what a governor's aide called "a lapse in judgment." Illinois officials also looked into the matter, but Casey remains in her position of assistant warden of programs at the Centralia Correctional Center, said department spokesman Derek Schnapp. Casey was not available for comment.

May 30, 2006 AP
Gov. Bill Richardson has put Corrections Secretary Joe Williams on unpaid leave while the secretary's recent actions are investigated. Richardson said the review will focus on Williams' use of a state-issued cell phone, a state-funded trip that included some personal travel and his relationship with a lobbyist. "Gov. Richardson wants a thorough investigation to examine the secretary's actions and determine if anything improper occurred," said James Jimenez, Richardson's chief of staff. "The governor sets a very high ethical standard for his administration and will not tolerate any level of abuse of authority or public trust." A spokeswoman for the Corrections Department said Williams was unavailable for comment. State Personnel Director Sandra Perez will conduct the investigation through her office, Jimenez said. Williams will be on unpaid leave until June 9, the day Perez's office is to report to the governor. The Albuquerque Journal reported Sunday that Williams spent about 91 hours on his state-issued cell phone talking with Ann Casey, an assistant warden at a state prison in Centralia, Ill. The calls between the two phones were placed between Sept. 24, 2005, and Feb. 23, 2006. Casey registered as a lobbyist in 2005 for two companies that have contracts with New Mexico to provide health care and meals to prisoners. Williams described his relationship with Casey as a friendship and said he doesn't give preferential treatment to anybody. Richardson also is questioning a trip Williams took to Nashville on the state's dollar. In January, Williams attended a conference of the American Correctional Association. His travel records show he added a St. Louis leg to the trip, which he said was personal. A 30-mile drive from the St. Louis airport would land Williams at an address in O'Falcon, Ill., which Casey listed on lobbyist registration forms. Records show Williams wrote a check to his department in January for $266, the cost of adding the St. Louis trip. While on the trip, Williams and Casey accepted a dinner invitation from a company that operates a state prison in Santa Rosa, according to Williams' e-mail records. A billing statement for a hotel stay during the trip also lists two people in his party, but Williams would not say who the second person was. Richardson appointed Williams, a former warden at the Lea County Correctional Facility in Hobbs and former warden at two state prisons, as corrections secretary in 2003.

November 24, 2005 State Journal Register
Less than five months after the state government canceled a contract with Wexford Health Sources to provide health care for most prison inmates, the company is resuming those duties with a new contract worth a potential $547 million. The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, which handles health-care procurement for most state agencies, awarded the contract late Wednesday. The agreement will pay Pittsburgh-based Wexford $97.6 million in the first year and $103.9 million in the second year, said HFS spokeswoman Kathleen Strand. Among the other bidders on the contract was Peoria-based Health Professionals Ltd., which the state hired after ending its previous contract with Wexford in July. HPL had prior agreements with the state to provide inmate health care at 10 other Illinois prisons, and those remain in effect, Strand said. The state canceled the earlier contract with Wexford just before the company's union-represented workers planned to go on strike. Workers said they authorized the strike because they were making little progress in contract talks with Wexford. The Department of Corrections awarded emergency contracts worth an estimated $55 million to HPL, and agency officials said at the time that the contracts soon would be put out for long-term bid. The emergency contracts cover the period from July 5, 2005, to Jan. 31, 2006. Wexford has contributed about $25,000 to Illinois political campaign funds since 1994, according to the State Board of Elections' Web site. The largest contribution was $10,000 to Friends of Blagojevich, the governor's fund, in November 2003.

August 27, 2005 Southern Illinoisan
In July, healthcare workers in Illinois prisons were so unhappy with Wexford Health Sources Inc., the company that employed them under contract with the state, they threatened to go on strike. Gov. Rod Blagojevich stepped in and pulled the contract from Wexford and awarded it to Health Professionals Limited. But the workers are still unhappy with Wexford, alleging the company has failed to pay them for accumulated "paid time off" including vacation and sick days. Wexford officials said it may be as late as October, but they will indeed pay what is owed pending receipt of information from HPL and money owed by the state of Illinois.

August 11, 2005 Pantagraph
In her job as a pharmacy technician at Lincoln Correctional Center, Kirsten Lolling has doled out pills and prescriptions to prison inmates for more than 12 years. On Wednesday, Lolling received some good medicine herself in the form of a 24 percent pay hike and a host of other improvements in her wage and benefits package. The added cash comes as part of a union contract ratified Wednesday by nearly 380 privately employed prison health care workers. Overall raises differ at the 23 prisons affected by the deal. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union reports its contract with Peoria-based Health Professionals Ltd. will result in better retirement benefits, cheaper health care costs and added benefits for education and length of service. Faced with the prospect of having inadequate staffing levels in many of its prisons, the Illinois Department of Corrections dropped Wexford and its $83 million contract and brought in HPL, which was already providing health care services at nine other state prisons.

July 7, 2005 Pantagraph
A Pennsylvania-based company may sue the Illinois Department of Corrections after the agency abruptly canceled its contract to avert a labor strike.  "We are looking at all our options," said Elaine Gedman, human resources chief of Pittsburgh-based Wexford Health Sources Inc. "This is totally unprecedented."  The potential lawsuit comes in response to action the state took Sunday as the clock ticked down on a potential strike by nearly 380 nurses, pharmacists and other health-care professionals who work in the prison system but are employed through Wexford.  The workers, represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, had threatened to walk off the job Tuesday if their contract demands were not met. Dozens of workers at prisons in Dwight, Pontiac and Lincoln are covered by the labor contract.  But a strike was averted late Sunday when the state terminated its lengthy relationship with Wexford -- worth about $83 million this year -- and hired a second company to manage health care at the prisons.  The affected workers, meanwhile, remain on the job while AFSCME attempts to negotiate a new labor agreement with the new contractor, Health Professionals Limited.

July 5, 2005 State Journal Register
The state has dropped its contract with Wexford Health Sources Inc. to provide health services at 23 state prisons on the eve of a scheduled strike by its employees. Department of Corrections spokeswoman Dede Short confirmed that an agreement had been reached between Corrections and Health Professionals Limited to take over the Wexford contracts, which were cancelled Monday. Health Professionals Limited is a private vendor that currently provides similar health services in nine prisons, according to representatives of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, which represented the Wexford prison employees. As a result, the strike that had been scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. today, affecting more than 350 Wexford employees at 23 state prisons, has been put on hold, according to Anders Lindall, public affairs director for AFSCME Council 31. Negotiations broke off Friday between Wexford and the union. At the heart of the dispute is the difference in pay, health and other benefits between Wexford's employees and state workers, some of whom reportedly make twice as much as private vendor health employees doing similar jobs. Wexford's workers provided medical, dental and mental health services at nearly two dozen state prisons.