CHICAGO — The Department of Homeland Security has spent more than $2 million on its efforts to apprehend the still-living fugitives from the Fox River state prison in Illinois. A departmental spokeswoman blamed the escalating cost on disarray in the Illinois state penal system coupled with the FBI shake-ups that accompanied President Reynolds’ brief tenure in the White House.

“It was a perfect storm of complications,” the spokesman, identified only as “Agent Lang” said. “We were undergoing top-level restructuring following the appointment of a new bureau chief, plus the Illinois department of corrections was in disarray after Governor Frank Tancredi’s sudden death.”

However, many of the expenses — which include frequent flights criss-crossing the country, more than 6000 minutes a month on mobile phones, and an ammunition budget of $500,000 — can’t be laid at the feet of administrative unrest. The Chronicle received budgetary documents courtesy of a FOIA request, and learned that the Fox River manhunt is also allocating monies toward the upkeep of a spacious ranch in remote Blackfoot, Montana. Calls to the ranch went unanswered.

The fugitives currently at large include: Lincoln Burrows, 39, who was scheduled to die for the murder of President Reynold’s brother Terrence Steadman; his brother, Michael Scofield, 30; Fernando Sucre; Miles Benjamin Franklin; and notorious serial killer Theodore Bagwell.

Former Fox River warden Henry Pope said in a recent interview, “I had thought Michael Scofield was a young man who made a mistake. I have learned that he’s actually a cold, calculating criminal genius. Frankly, if the FBI wants to spend another 50 cents on a bullet between his ears, I’ll give it to them.”