By AP/ Paco Long-Mendez
Springfield, IL – Illinois Governor Pat Quinn is asking former appellate court justice David Erickson to examine a policy that allowed the early release of hundreds of state prison inmates. Quinn named the 59-year-old former prosecutor today to examine the Corrections Department's "meritorious good time" program. The Associated Press reported this week the Corrections Department secretly changed its custody policy, resulting in more than 850 inmates being released earlier than expected. Some inmates convicted of violent offenses served fewer than three weeks total time behind bars. Quinn has suspended the practice.