http://www.pontiacdailyleader.com/articles/2008/05/07/news/news3.txt

Letter tells of prison’s situation

5/7/2008

Pontiac Daily Leader

Sheila Shelton

At his Tuesday press conference, held in Pontiac, State Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa (53rd District), released copies of the letter, sent on Friday, by Illinois Department of Corrections Director Roger E. Walker Jr., to State Sen. Arthur J. Wilhelmi, R-Crest Hill (43rd District), canceling the plan to close a portion of Stateville Correctional Center, Joliet, and making public for the first time a new plan to close Pontiac Correctional Center by February 2009.

"Until Monday, when we learned the contents of Walker's letter, Pontiac Correctional Center was not in the equation to be closed. I don't understand where this came from all of a sudden and I certainly don't understand the logic behind it," said Rutherford.

Rutherford explained that the Roundhouse at Stateville was the only portion of that maximum security facility that was scheduled for closure and the inmates from there were to be brought to Pontiac or sent to Thomson Correctional Center in northern Illinois.

"We were told that it would cost $109 million to refurbish the Roundhouse so it was easier to close it. I supported the building of Thomson but it was never built with the idea in mind of using it to close other facilities," said Rutherford. "The state's penal institutions are at 135 percent capacity. That does not mean you close some of them to relieve this over-crowding."

Walker states in his letter to Wilhelmi, "As you know the Illinois Department of Corrections has proposed eliminating the use of the maximum security portion of the Stateville Correctional Center beginning in fiscal year 2009. My goal has been to put newer more modern facilities into operation and decrease the reliance on older less efficient ones. There has been much public discourse on this proposal in the form of legislative hearings and legislative tours of three of the facilities that will be impacted by this plan."

The letter continues, "At our very first Senate hearing regarding the Stateville plan, I committed to continue reviewing options to achieve the goal of operating a safe, secure and efficient prison system. My staff and I believe that opening the new, state-of-the-art Thomson facility is essential." (Thomson construction concluded in 2001 but the institution has never been officially opened in the years since then.)

"However, we believe our goal can best be achieved at this time by keeping the maximum security portion of the Stateville Correctional Center open and closing the Pontiac Correctional Center," said Walker in the letter.

Walker referred to some of Illinois' correctional facilities as being some of the oldest in the country.

"We must make choices about the best use of those facilities. The nature of our population at the Pontiac facility — segregation, mental health, and protective custody — calls for single-celling the majority of inmates," wrote Walker. "Transferring this specialized inmate population from Pontiac to Thomson facility will allow us to continue single-celling these inmates at the same time we move to a more efficient facility and away from the older, less efficient one. The Stateville plan called for the movement and increased double-celling of inmates, whereas this proposal will allow us to maximize single-celling."

At Tuesday's press conference Rutherford made reference to the many safety and security updates that have been made at Pontiac Correctional Center over the past 10-12 years.

"Pontiac is completely functional and fulfilling all public safety standards. It is not the place it was a decade ago before the state put money into it to update it," said Rutherford.

Danny Jarrett, president of AFSCME Local 494 (which represents officers at PCC), said at the conference that "Pontiac is fully functional. We went through so many changes to make it safer for all employees and inmates."

"We are focused on economics and we need to open Thomson but we need to keep Pontiac open at the same time. Ultimately we need to do what is best for Pontiac and we will let the governor know that is keeping Pontiac open," said Rutherford.

"We are looking at how this process will affect the people who work at PCC and how it will affect Pontiac and the county as a whole," said Pontiac Mayor Scott McCoy.

Livingston County Board Chairman Bill Flott thanked Rutherford for stepping up to the call "to work on a sensible plan that will prevent Livingston County from being held hostage by Governor Rod Blagojevich."

Mike Stoecklin, mayor of Saunemin and chairman of the Livingston County Mayors Association said, "This proposal to close Pontiac Correctional Center would have an astounding impact on each and every community in Livingston County. I do not believe there is one town or village in this county that does not have one or more PCC employees living in it."