Cook County Jail is finally routinely testing new prisoners for HIV.

More than 20 years ago, State Rep. Penny Pullen was pushing for inmates to be tested for HIV upon incarceration.

She was even willing to settle for testing upon release.

Why?

In the hope that those in prison might be less likely to infect others if they knew they were infected.

That was in the years when AIDS activists seemed to think the virus should have more civil rights than humans.

Well, now the Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Cook County Jail is routinely testing those on the way in.

Why?

Sheriff’s Department officials are “hoping to put a dent in the number of people who have the virus but don’t know it.”

That’s what the Chicago Tribune reports.

State prisons are next, the article says.

And, echoing the argument I made in the 1990’s, “Experts say correctional facilities have been a key battleground in the fight against HIV.”

Better late than never, I guess.

But think how many HIV infections could have been prevented if people like Illinois Department of Corrections Director Howard Peters had had the courage to follow the facts in the mid-1990’s, rather than political correctness.

And some wonder why I think government is incompetent.