LASALLE COUNTY, IL - Counselors at one of the nation's largest drug-treatment prisons went on strike Tuesday, demanding higher pay and better benefits from their employer, Chicago-based Gateway Foundation.

Illinois Department of Corrections officials said the more than 850 inmates at Sheridan Correctional Center in LaSalle County continue to get drug and alcohol treatment from Gateway's remaining supervisory staff. The strike would not affect prisoners' release dates, officials said. Sheridan--considered by many to be a national model for prison reform--has put a temporary halt on new admissions.

The counselors' union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said that because of the strike, Gateway has cut programming at Sheridan by two-thirds and has done away with all Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous programs.

Gateway president Michael Darcy said Al-Anon and Narcotics Anonymous meetings continue at the prison, but he acknowledged that overall treatment programs have been reduced. He said 10 of the 53 unionized counselors crossed the picket line Tuesday.

"Definitely there is a reduced service level because we have people on strike," Darcy said. "We're committed to bargaining with the union and returning to the bargaining table."

Corrections spokesman Derek Schnapp said the department remains satisfied with the work Gateway is doing.

"The bottom line is Gateway is fulfilling the requirements in their contract," he said. "There is treatment going on."

Early last year, the drug counselors at Sheridan formed a union and were officially certified by the National Labor Relations Board in September. The union then began negotiating a contract with Gateway, which has never had unionized workers in any of the six states it serves.

Henry Bayer, executive director of AFSCME's Illinois Council 31, said he believes that's why Gateway is resisting the drug counselors' demands.

"I don't expect any talks. I don't think they're interested in a collective bargaining agreement," Bayer said. "They've basically been stonewalling at the bargaining table."

The Sheridan workers say they are paid about 45 percent less than state-employed prison counselors, and they pay more for health benefits.

Darcy said Gateway has made more than 200 proposals to the union. A federal mediator is working with both sides.

Sheridan, which puts inmates through intense substance-abuse counseling and job training to better prepare them for release, has been one of the centerpieces of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration. So far there has been no indication the governor will intervene in the labor dispute.