'Inmate' Curran works on trash detail

Lake County jail inmate Mark Curran loaded up on sunscreen before taking his place on a roadside cleanup crew this morning. Even with lower temperatures, three hours of stoop-labor under an August sun could cause a sunburn.

Midway through a self-imposed jail sentence, Curran found himself on his hands and knees picking up fast-food garbage and old newspapers along Washington Street near Waukegan.

Hoping to dramatize the need for prison reform, the Lake County sheriff put himself behind bars last week. He'll be released Wednesday.

"I'm doing this to remind everyone that anyone can be an inmate," Curran said. "I want to raise the awareness for the need for reform in the Illinois Department of Corrections."

Working on the trash line, is just one more experience for Curran during his weeklong incarceration. He's been sleeping in a cell, eating institutional food, working in the kitchen and attending classes too.

A few drivers honked as they drove past the crew of eight men dressed in bright orange jail jumpsuits. The crew worked their way west along Washington Street before finishing at about noon.

Wearing his orange safety vest and dark sunglasses, Curran used long handled tongs to grab trash as four lanes of traffic rushed past.

Speaking of his fellow inmates, Curran said, "These are human beings. The need to be loved and treated with respect."