IDOC pitches proposal to relocate Logan Correctional Center
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) – The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) pitched their proposal to relocate the Logan Correctional Center closer to the Chicago suburbs.
The agency is eyeing the grounds of the Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill to serve as the new home.
IDOC acting director Latoya Hughes testified before lawmakers in a hearing Friday that relocating north would give inmates better access to all kinds of resources.
“The utilization of and the concept of regionalization for the women enhances women’s access to families, social supports, vocational opportunities, and community resources, which helps to further ensure women’s success upon release, thus reducing recidivism,” Hughes said.
Hughes said the facility, a women’s prison, is outdated and suffering from crumbling infrastructure including deteriorating shower rooms, a need to replace the boiler system and a need to shift the facility to clean energy from coal power.
“Even if completed, such repairs still would not convert Logan to a modernized rehabilitative design that provides important programs and services to the individuals in our custody to facilitate successful reentry and ensure a safe working environment for our staff,” Hughes said.
Around 450 people work at the Logan facility and would lose their jobs under IDOC’s proposal, raising concerns among lawmakers.
“They have jobs, they have homes, and we can’t expect them to drive 70 miles at $4 gas to try and work somewhere else,” State Sen. Sally Turner (R-Beason) said.
The agency, lawmakers and a union representing the workers all say a new facility is a must.
“Now, the question is, how do we do that,” State Sen. David Koehler (D-Peroia) said. “And wouldn’t it be a nice model for Illinois to represent to see how we could do that as a cooperative, collaborative process? Because I think that there is a way to get there. I just don’t hear it come to a focal point at this point.”
Mike Newman, the deputy director for AFSCME Council 31, said the union supports a new facility but is against moving it out of Lincoln saying it would be a disruption for workers and create hardships for inmates and their families.
“It will be extremely difficult to retain current staff and bring in new cadets to Logan during that period with the threat of closures and layoffs looming,” Newman said.
Around 450 people work at the Logan Correctional Center. If the facility moves, they would have to find another job.
IDOC believes there would be about 850 open positions available to workers within a 90 mile radius of Logan including the Decatur Correctional Center.
The agency is also looking to rebuild the Stateville facility. IDOC estimates it will cost about $7 million to fully transition both Stateville and Logan.
The governor’s proposed budget sets aide $900 million towards these projects.
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