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| Hill Survives Budget Ax – For Now |
| By galesburg.com |
| Published: 07/09/2009 |
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Hill survives budget ax – for now Uncertainty over future cutbacks at prison By Eric Timmons The Register-Mail Posted Jul 09, 2009 GALESBURG —Henry C. Hill Correctional facility has survived the first round of Department of Corrections cutbacks that will include 1,000 job losses and an early-release program for non-violent offenders. Gov. Pat Quinn announced the job cuts this week, as part of an effort to close the state’s $11.6 billion budget deficit. The DOC began the process of implementing the first phase of cutbacks Thursday, which will reduce staff levels by 500 across six state prisons. The prisons affected are at East Moline, Lincoln, Logan, Decatur, Vandalia and Vienna. “Hill is not being targeted right now,” DOC spokesman Derek Schnapp said. But he added that details of the second round of cutbacks have yet to be finalized. In the months leading up to the failed attempt to resolve the state’s budget crisis, it was announced that Hill was to get an additional 20 correctional officers to deal with shortages at the prison. But it is now unclear if that staff increase will go ahead and staff at Hill will fear that jobs might instead be cut when details of the second phase of cutbacks is announced by the DOC. “At this point in time, I really don’t have any details about that,” Schnapp said about the proposed staff increases at Hill. The DOC also will ask staff to take 12 furlough days as it looks for ways to trim $125 million from its annual budget. As part of the cost-cutting drive, some low-level offenders will be released from prison early, Schnapp said. He said non-violent inmates who are within a year of release likely will be put on parole and released from prison. It’s not clear how many prisoners will be released, Schnapp said, as the DOC is just beginning to draw up plans for the program. Most DOC staff are members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union. Schnapp said negotiations with the union about job losses have begun. Staff laid off in the first round of cutbacks will finish work Sept. 30, according to the DOC. Read More. |
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