skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A PA judge allows Elon Musk's $1 million voter giveaway; All eyes on AZ this Election Day, but experts warn of harmful misinformation; To call or not to call? The election night question; Election Day raises new fears over Comstock Act, reproductive rights.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Philadelphia's District Attorney says the city is prepared for any election violence, doctors advise about how to handle Election Stress Disorder, and Oregon has a high number of women in government.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A Cambodian poultry farmer who lost his livelihood could be a hero for others, rural Montanans are anxiously awaiting a court ruling over a climate lawsuit brought by young people, and Northeast states say more housing for working families could boost jobs.

Groups Call for Water Infrastructure Testing in IL Prisons

play audio
Play

Friday, July 15, 2022   

After reports of water contamination in Illinois prisons, groups are calling on the state to conduct a top-down review of the water and sewer systems in the facilities.

The state's Capital Development Board is currently conducting an assessment of prison infrastructure needs, with the goal of identifying structural updates needed for its facilities.

Jennifer Vollen Katz, executive director of the John Howard Association of Illinois (JHA), said the review should include water infrastructure. The JHA is one of six advocacy groups calling to expand the assessment.

"The State of Illinois has not made the resources available to provide ongoing maintenance and upkeep for these facilities," Vollen Katz contended. "Many of them are very old, and haven't had attention paid to their physical plant infrastructure in many, many years."

A recent investigation by The Appeal revealed the water at five Illinois prisons was infected with Legionella bacteria, which can cause Legionnaires' disease, a potentially fatal type of pneumonia. According to the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC), there were more than 27,500 people in the prison system as of the end of March.

Vollen Katz contended, aside from the Legionella contamination, the IDOC has not been transparent about prior water-quality issues. She argued any updates to prisons' drinking water and sewer infrastructure should be subject to public review.

"We don't have a good understanding, and there doesn't seem to be ongoing public inspection, of water systems inside our prisons," Vollen Katz stated.

In prisons across the country, water quality has been a concern for incarcerated people and their advocates, as well as those who work in the facilities. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, one-third of state and federal prisons are built within three miles of a Superfund site, where pollution is serious enough to warrant a federal response.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Some organizations point to low pay, racial bias in school systems and retention challenges as the biggest obstacles to recruiting more Black men into teaching. (RDNE/Pexels)

Social Issues

play sound

In a country where Black men make up less than 2% of the teaching workforce, a program in Jacksonville is working to shift the balance by recruiting 1…


Social Issues

play sound

By Jabari Gibbs for The Current.Broadcast version by Shanteya Hudson for Georgia News Connection reporting for the Rural News Network-Public News Serv…

Social Issues

play sound

It is Election Day and Maine voters are weighing the future of the state's extensive trail system. If passed, the Maine Trails Bond would inject …


More than one of every 10 voters in today's general election is expected to be Latino, a 20.5% increase from 2016, according to the NALEO Educational Fund. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Election Day is finally here, and this year more than 17 million Latinos are expected to cast a ballot. The National Association of Latino Elected …

Social Issues

play sound

A package of New York City bills can help preserve affordable housing. The Community Land Act creates more pathways for communities to purchase and …

More than 36,000,000 Latinos nationwide will be eligible to vote in the 2024 presidential election - an increase of four million voters since 2020, according to the Pew Research Center. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

By Lourdes Medrano for Yes! Media.Broadcast version by Kathryn Carley for Arizona News Connection reporting for the Yes! Media-Public News Service …

Social Issues

play sound

A nonprofit report aims to build trust in Michigan's voting system by explaining the safeguards that ensure fair and free elections. The report …

Social Issues

play sound

Wyoming's secretary of state is asking county clerks to report non-citizens who try to vote, although cases of that - or any other - kind of election …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021