An inmate at Dixon Correctional Center in Downstate Illinois continued to hold a female staff member hostage this afternoon, and officials were still negotiating with him.

Department of Corrections spokesman Sergio Molina described the inmate this morning as cooperative.

Prison officials would not confirm the identity of the inmate, but they did fax a letter to the Tribune written by a man who has been in prison since 1984 on multiple rape convictions.

In the letter, the man wrote: "I'm in a position that I didn't want to be in—but I didn't see any other option to get the truth out. … Please help me if you can."

The four-page, hand-written letter was faxed to the Tribune Thursday evening. It bears the inmate's signature and contains a time stamp that indicates it was sent at 8:17 p.m. from the "Dixon CC Wardens Office."

The letter was faxed during negotiations with the hostage taker, and prison officials said they had read the letter before they sent it. The inmate, who addressed his letter to "the people of Chicago," wrote that his trial transcripts "show with certainty that I have been imprisoned on lies & half truths."

He described in detail how his case had allegedly been mishandled by judges and lawyers. Molina said officials were not releasing the identity of the staff member taken hostage, but he referred to her as a female. Details on how she was taken hostage about 12:45 p.m. Thursday were not available.

No one has been hurt and no other inmates were involved, prison officials said. The prison was immediately put on lockdown.