By Tony Sapochetti
Bloomington Pantagraph
Pontiac prison closure plan draws controversy
PONTIAC, Ill. — Pontiac Correctional Center will close by Dec. 31, about two months earlier than previously expected, according to a letter Illinois Department of Corrections sent Friday to the prison workers’ unions. Governor blames economy for low approval rating
(AP Photo) |
While IDOC has been moving since May toward closing the prison, Friday’s announcement still drew immediate condemnation from union and political officials who pledged to keep fighting the closure decision.
“You don’t fix a dangerously crowded prison system by closing a prison,” said Henry Bayer, executive director of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, in a statement. “Lawmakers, economists and even the governor’s own consultants agree with AFSCME that closing Pontiac is wrong.”
IDOC Director Roger E. Walker Jr. sent letters Friday to AFSCME and Illinois State Employees Association Local 2002 informing them of the decision. The terms of their contracts require the state to start negotiations with the unions about the status of the prison’s approximately 600 employees.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced in the spring that he wanted to close the 137-year-old, maximum security prison and moves most of its 1,600 inmates to a new, unused prison at Thomson. State officials have said the move would save taxpayers $4 million a year.
The decision in May immediately galvanized local political leaders who worry that the closure of the county’s No. 2 employer will devastate the area’s economy. The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, a bipartisan state organization which recommended against the closure, estimated the loss at $54 million.
That outcry continued Friday.
“I have notified the governor — again and again — of our extreme objections to this decision,” said U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, an Urbana Republican, in the statement. “This flies in the face of logic, against the advice of people at all levels of government regardless of party affiliation, and most importantly against the interests of the people of Livingston County and all of Illinois.”
Local officials joined AFSCME in September to file a lawsuit, but no hearing date has been set. A local circuit judge recently rejected the plaintiffs’ request for a temporary restraining order to stop two prisoner transfers earlier this month.
Pontiac Mayor Scott McCoy said Friday the closure decision is “irresponsible” and could be based purely on political reasons.
“The word I keep coming up with is ‘irresponsible’ as I think it’s irresponsible for the governor and irresponsible for DOC because this flies in the face of everything they were told … that this is a bad idea,” he said at a press conference Friday.
Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa, said he will continue to work on a legislative level to reverse the decision. The General Assembly will return to session Nov. 12 for the fall veto session.
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