Rather than talking of closing the Kankakee Minimum Security Unit of the Dwight women's prison, the Illinois Department of Corrections should be developing a strategic, long-range plan for prison operations, state Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Pontiac, said Thursday.

"I am continually hearing chatter on different types of closings and reconfigurations" from the Department of Corrections, said Rutherford, who led a recent campaign to keep the maximum security men's prison at Pontiac open. Gov. Pat Quinn decided early this year to reverse former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's plan to close Pontiac, Livingston County's second-largest employer with 570 jobs and an estimated $54 million annual impact.

Rutherford didn't discuss the Kankakee unit specifically. Located at Illinois Route 102 and Warner Bridge Road, midway between Bourbonnais and Wilmington, it is a 200-bed facility, has 45 employees and now houses 63 prisoners.