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| Quinn against public tours of Illinois state prisons |
| By foxillinois.com - Jayette Bolinski |
| Published: 08/13/2012 |
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SPRINGFIELD, ILL – Want to know what conditions are like inside Illinois’ prisons? You’ll have to take someone else’s word for it. And for the most part, that someone has to be the state of Illinois or the union that represents correctional officers and other prison workers. Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, is steadfast in his opinion that media tours of the state’s taxpayer-funded prisons, even the minimum-security ones, are a security risk and not a good idea. “Prisons aren’t country clubs. They’re not there to be visited and looked at. I think we have to make sure they’re secure, and I think the security of the public is paramount when it comes to prisons,” Quinn said during questioning by reporters after he cut the ribbon for the 2012 Illinois State Fair in Springfield. The issue of prison tours gained traction this week after a report by Chicago public radio station WBEZ that one of its reporters was turned down when he asked for a tour of the minimum-security prison in Vienna to investigate conditions there for prisoners. Other reporters’ prison tour requests have been turned down, as well. “I think it’s important that we listen to those who are on the front line at the prison with respect to working there and understanding their decisions regarding the safety of the prison,” Quinn said Friday. “Our corrections officials who are running the prisons are wardens. They have expertise that we ought to pay attention to.” But Alan Mills, legal director at the Uptown People’s Law Center in Chicago, which represents Illinois inmates in legal cases, said Quinn is off base. “Clearly, not only is it in the public’s interest, I think it’s the public’s right to know what’s going on in the prisons. Government should never be able to force the public to rely on its own version of the events. That’s what journalists and outside watchdogs are for,” Mills said. “The argument about security is hogwash.” Mills said state officials have allowed tours of the Stateville and Dwight prisons regularly, and they have run tours of Tamms “when it suits their interests.” “So there is no reason why they can’t run a tour and allow access to a medium-security prison. Do they have to assign someone to walk you through? Yes, but so what?” he said. “I think the public is legitimately able to conclude from their refusal to let people in that they don’t want people to see what’s going on in there.” The union that represents corrections officers, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, has publicized reports from the last month about violence in the state’s prisons. But it’s impossible to confirm the reports because the Illinois Department of Corrections will not release incident reports – even versions with sensitive information blacked out – that document the alleged occurrences. Read More. |
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