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| Planned prison closure could spur crowding |
| By businessweek.com - AP |
| Published: 09/29/2011 |
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LINCOLN, Ill. -- Gov. Pat Quinn's plans to shutter a central Illinois prison means 1,500 inmates would be housed in prison gyms at 11 other lockups across the state, forcing those sites to bulk up staffing under the "evident possibility" of crowding-related lawsuits, the Illinois Department of Corrections says. Such potential fallout of closing the medium-security Logan Correctional Center near Lincoln, as detailed in the department's required report to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, drew immediate rebukes from the union representing most of the state's prison workers. "I've read closure documents before, but none so outrageous and irresponsible as the Logan prison plan," Anders Lindall, a spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, told the (Springfield) State Journal-Register. Calling the shuffling of inmates "irresponsible," Lindall said the closure plan makes no mention of its impact on the safety of corrections workers or prisoners. Quinn has said budget cuts by lawmakers left him little choice in seeking to close Logan and six other state institutions. But the Corrections Department said in its recent filing that it "is prepared to face the challenges of providing mandated services in a less-than-ideal situation," noting that "an increased risk of legal exposure is an evident possibility." "To assist in confronting these challenges, IDOC will be required to increase employee headcount at the facilities that will receive the additional inmate population," the filing read. Read More. |
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