Press Release
JONESBORO, IL — Educator and wife of a former Tamms Correctional Center officer, Marsha Griffin is calling on fellow Illinoisans’ to join in on the “My Brother’s Keeper” efforts to reopen the now-shuttered Tamms Correctional Center in rural Alexander county.
“Our friends in the corrections community demand the right to be heard and so far those opinions have fallen on deaf ears with the Pat Quinn Administration and Illinois Department of Corrections Director Salvador Godinez,” Griffin said. “We will not be silenced and as this movement grows, I would encourage our friends and neighbors to sign our online petition.”
Mrs. Griffin from Jonesboro Illinois is the founder of the “My Brother’s Keeper” group for correctional officers. The group is spearheading a petition drive to reopen the Tamms Correctional Center. “My Brother’s Keeper” is a grassroots, faith-based group that is striving to bring about meaningful policy changes that will enhance worker safety.
Since Tamms and Dwight Correctional Center were shuttered in late 2013, the problems of overcrowding and understaffing have been compounded. Inmates are again riding the circuit, and a powerful tool to protect frontline workers has been lost. Tamms was regarded as a key “safety valve” for the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Frontline employees are facing increased danger and inmate deaths have occurred as a direct result of this closure. As a direct result of the closures, a 20 percent increase in staff assaults occurred during Fiscal Year 2013, but the IDOC official response determined the increases were merely isolated incidents.
To read and sign the “My Brothers Keeper” petition, please visit petitions.moveon.org/sign/reopen-tamms-correctional.