10 Comments - Dan Vock - Wednesday, Jun 21, 06 @ 10:35 am: More stuff on gov’s hiring, with some pretty good background that’s not in the AP story. http://www.stateline.org/live/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=136&languageId=1&contentId=116789 - Cassandra - Wednesday, Jun 21, 06 @ 12:20 pm: I am certain that DOC, like all state agencies, has a contingent of elderly middle management employees, protected by civil service regs, who stay on in their undemanding jobs because it is easier and more profitable that filling out their retirement applications. But even if they were persuaded somehow to depart, that wouldn’t solve the real problem, which is not a lack of guards. The prisons hold too many petty drug offenders, among whom minorities are seriously overrepresented. Solve this problem and you solve the problem of understaffing and, hopefully, reduce the number of prisons. Neither party has had the courage to speak up on this issue, even politicians from communities which are devastated by the impact of wacky drug laws and inconsistent arrest and sentencing practices. - Anonymous - Wednesday, Jun 21, 06 @ 12:54 pm: Wow, Cassandra. “…their undemanding jobs…” Clueless, Cassandra, clueless. You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. You just hate. - B Hicks - Wednesday, Jun 21, 06 @ 4:20 pm: The IDOC has more than enough correctional officers to operate the institutions; the problem is that the guards are not divvied up properly. Jacksonville has too many, while Graham has too few. The state should be able to transfer the guards, by seniority, from prisons with too many, to prisons with vacancies. This process would equal out the head-count at the facilities. If a family has to pack up and move, so be it. At the end of the current contract, correctional officers will be making $50.000 a year. If they don’t want to move, I’m sure there is someone to fill the position. Example: Pittsfield Work Camp has 109 correctional officers on count. That is 35 less correctional officers than the Lincoln Correctional Center, an adult female prison that houses around 650 inmates. Pittsfield is a level 7 (very low security) and houses less than 300 inmates. Something is wrong with that. Greene County Work Camp, same level as Pittsfield, averages around 200 inmates. The entire camp operates with 54 correctional officers. Staffing levels throughout the IDOC aren’t too low, they’re just all screwed up. By the way, Greene County is one of the prisons that Rod Blagojevich reopened after Ryan shut it down. Did JBT sport a Save Greene County shirt around the State House when this was going on? No, if you recall, it was necessary at the time. Also, the state can thank Donny Snyder for the bloated staffing levels at Pittsfield, that’s his hometown and he was Director of Corrections when the camp opened. - anon - Wednesday, Jun 21, 06 @ 5:45 pm: They are not too “demanding” in places like Decatur . Just read a paper or listen to the news..the only staff shortages there are because they keep hauling them out for “fratranizing” with inmates and they show them the door. Big “joints” & distribution of help may be the problem but these small centers ..no way. Sorry !!!! & they’re making as much as a guy in Joiliet. - Anonymous - Wednesday, Jun 21, 06 @ 7:17 pm: …& the’re making as much as a guy in Jo_liet… Nothing sexist about that. Ahh, liberals. Defenders of…whatever. As far as their salaries, thank their union for that. The Corrections officer in Joliet and the Corrections officer in Decatur are in lock step agreemant about that. - anonymous - Wednesday, Jun 21, 06 @ 7:52 pm: I think what was expressed was that they haven’t got much to protest about really, good wages, benefits & longivety of employment if they behave .Staffing issues & distribution of resource is a management thing. The comment made “making as much as a guy in joliet” meaning really anyone , not sexist, “the guy {or gal} walking duty & doing the job they are hired for !! There are I’m sure good officers who report everyday to work, do what is expected. Obviously the comment made was local in nature regarding staffing. - Ethel - Wednesday, Jun 21, 06 @ 9:41 pm: Sorry to disappoint all of you - but there are no corrections officers in Joliet anymore. That facility is closed. Stateville is still open - but that is not located in Joliet. Even Jail Break has broken out of Joliet. - B Hicks - Wednesday, Jun 21, 06 @ 10:11 pm: Speaking of Decatur Correctional Center, what happened to the former Local AFSCME President that was serving 2 years ago? Oh yeah, he was walked out and indicted….about 6 times. Yeah, they’re concerned about safety and security. - spartacus - Monday, Jun 26, 06 @ 10:52 am: SInce February a dietary worker was raped by an inmate at Jacksonville Prison, an employee at Dixon COrrectional Center was taken hostage at knifepoint , held for 25 hours, and raped twice by an inmate, and an inmate at Big Muddy Prison in Ina was murdered by another inmate. In each of these cases a Correctional Officer post to provide security had been recently eliminated. Undemanding jobs, indeed. THese tragedies occured becasue there are not enough security staff in the prisons. And flaks for Rod Blagojevich can’t blog thier way otherwise. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.