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Misdirected woes over Stateville
Wednesday, Mar 26, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning * The Chicago Tribune published a story today about the possible effects of Stateville Prison’s closing of its maximum security wing on the families of the inmates. Stateville is home to 3,280 prisoners and is the closest state correctional facility to Chicago and its growing suburbs. Rather than spend an estimated $100 million to renovate Stateville to the level of other maximum-security prisons, Blagojevich wants to close the section that houses the most violent criminals and ship them to more secure rural prisons hours away. Some of the families have begun writing letters and speaking to lawmakers at budget forums, such as one held Tuesday at Kennedy-King College. They are organizing a bus trip to Springfield, where legislators will vote on the governor’s budget proposal for the coming fiscal year. * Department of Corrections spokesman Derek Schnapp said, “We understand families are a very important part of an inmate’s success when they go out. That’s part of what makes this so tough. But the No. 1 issue for us is safety and security.” If Stateville closes, some prisoners will be sent to the maximum-security wing of the next closest facility in Pontiac, 100 miles from Chicago. But others could be transferred to Thomson, which is 150 miles away from Chicago; to Menard, 350 miles away; or Tamms, 363 miles away. The article cites the difficulties that will be placed on the families who would be affected by a transfer:
and:
* Buried in the article, however, is this caveat:
While I am sympathetic to the families that would be inconvenienced by this proposal, I think the focus of the article is on the wrong subjects. How about those hundreds of people who could lose their jobs? This could result in the most far-reaching effect. In an economy that is inarguably in a recession this would be devastating to these families, and the surrounding community. Discuss.
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- yinn - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 11:33 am:
I guess I can see what you’re saying, Kevin, but the focus of the article is what it is because the families of the inmates, not those of the employees, are the ones taking action. Furthermore, the actions seem to indicate that this development would be experienced as much more than an “inconvenience” to the inmates’ families.
- Levois - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 11:36 am:
Wow Capitol Fax goes far and wide if in the link provided that you even know about a meeting at a Chicago City College. I’m certainly glad that you’ve come up with another angle to this story about the jobs although that surely could encompass a number of occupations/professions I would cringe at the idea of anyone profiting off of people who sit in prison.
- You go Boy - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 11:41 am:
This is an unusual situation where every segment
(THE STATE; inmates/families; employees) have a legitimate case to be made. New vs. renovation probably makes financial sense (and could allow our sterling governor another chance for corruption); inmates, regardless of your attitude toward them (probably very justified) still need a human connection to the outside/family; this last point also has an impact on what guards may have to face, at least those that keep their jobs - do inmates need yet another reason to riot and thereby jeopardize lives?
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 11:48 am:
Stateville is 82 years old. It’s design capacity is 1,500 and it now averages about 2,700 inmates. If there’s capacity elsewhere in the state, I’m all for closing the max wing and moving inmates before spending $100 million on an upgrade. My sympathies to the families, but I suspect this is not the first or biggest heartache they’re suffered in relation to their incarcerated loved one.
I’m also sympathetic to those who will lose their jobs, but the Joliet area is doing a lot better than it was 20 years ago. Let’s avail the workers of job training and search assistance before we pour $100 million into this dinosaur.
The closed max wing should be marketed by the Illinois Film Office. It looks like the prison you see in your nightmares.
- Kevin Fanning - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 11:51 am:
good point
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 12:01 pm:
The story says the wing that’s slated for closure is reserved for the “most violent” inmates. I take that to mean that these inmates are CURRENTLY considered dangerous and disruptive and require extra security measures — not merely that their past crimes were the most violent. If that is the case then the safety of the staff and other (less violent) inmates has to come first.
- cermak_rd - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 12:02 pm:
I’ve complained about this situation before, that prisoners from Cook County, as a result of Cook County’s size, make up a fair proportion of the prisoners in the IL prison system, yet they are shipped off far and wide to parts of the state that are difficult for their families to visit. An important part of rehabilitation is keeping the connection between family while the inmate is institutionalized so that when s/he gets out, there is a support structure available. In addition, a great many prisoners are also moms and dads to children and most agree that relationship with parents is important to children.
- Six Degrees of Separation - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 12:15 pm:
In retrospect, the cancelled prison at Hopkins Park looks like a good idea if the intent is to locate or retain more prisons near the Chicago area.
- Cassandra - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 12:56 pm:
I’m sorry about the families, but I’m not certain that paying substantial unnecessary costs by not shutting down prisons which have become redundant
is the right approach.
Clearly, with 1 in 100 American adults in the penal system, we are grossly overusing the jail option in corrections as a country. And we are paying big taxpayer bucks to maintain this overemphasis on incarceration. Billions.
Given the advances in videotechnology, one solution might be to increase the use of video
meetings among prisoners and families who are separated by great distances. But the emphasis needs to be on diversion, especially for nonviolent offenders.
As to the employees–why do state employees always assume that we taxpayers owe them a job for life.
Those of us in the private sector make no such
assumptions. Presumably, they have some transfer rights and can also bid into other state jobs depending on their collective bargaining agreements. That’s more than most employees in the marketplace have.
- Kevin Fanning - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 1:06 pm:
Cassandra-
I like the idea about video technology, and your point about the overcrowding prison system is square on. That’s the real story behind all of this.
You also make an interesting point about state employees and the transfer options. I think it’s also worth noting the consequences of shutting something down that is integral to the community, and its economic vitality. During the depression and in bad times many state institutions like Stateville or universities were the only thing that kept a town afloat.
I’m not advocating for keeping the prison open, just trying to talk about something I think gets lost in the discussion.
- Ghost - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 1:38 pm:
Thompson sits empty and is brand new, while Joliet is long outdated and needs closed down. The cost of retorftting an almost 1 century old facility is not a reasonable option.
BTW a lot of these inmates are not eligible for release, or not until they are old men. the Families influence on the hardcore inmates is of dubious weight.
Tamms is also underutilized and is a state of the art facility. We need to send these folks where we have beds, use the space we have, and look at building a replacement. For the time being shutter the wing and ship them out.
- wow Kevin - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 2:34 pm:
Wow Kevin, while you are doing a great job in Rich’s absence, I think you are way, way off base here — but unfortunately you are not alone.
In Illinois black and brown inmates are an economic development tool for small, white rural towns and a membership vehicle for AFSCME. It is just sick to create a system that destroys any chance of family ties that the inmates have, and then not expect serious recidivism.
Your sympathies for the guards first falls into this trap.
- Angry Chicagoan - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 2:54 pm:
It’s not the families’ fault that their loved ones committed the crime, and accordingly I don’t like to see the families’ rights trampled on or denigrated, either by the governor or comment posters here.
It is striking, though, how in almost every respect, and this is just the latest one, the scale of the governor’s complete disregard for human dignity whenever it gets in the way of his one “value”, his no new taxes pledge. Anything that could potentially get in the way of this, like higher education funding, pension system funding, the state’s bond rating, transit, roads, capital bills, schools, or prisoners’ families, is apparently expendable. Those of you sympathizing with the governor on this, just remember, chances are something important to you is next on his hatchet list.
- Truthful James - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 3:21 pm:
Videography is an excellent idea. You can bet that if Stateville were kept open the Human rights people would demand that $100MM renovation.
I wonder if this is not a sidewinder pitch to do just that. AFSME would be behind it. Local politically connected construction companies would love it.
The prisoners are going to have to be moved during any renovation as well. Employment opportunities giving Joliet guards preference would help. Good idea to move people to where the jobs are.
We could provide charter buses to the downstate facilities for the interest alone on the $100 Million if push came to shove.
- concerned voter - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 4:17 pm:
I’ll preface this by saying that I’m not necessarily for against Stateville being closed.
One thing I don’t get. Yes, we know prison is ideally supposed to lock up societies worst and retrain those that aren’t as bad, who will get out. But, aren’t all aspects of prison life supposed to be a deterrent for those that are in to not want to go back, and for those that aren’t, to not want to do something to be sent there in the first place?
Why do we have to make it more convenient for people to visit inmates? Maybe part of the punishment is the inconvenience you cause your family by your actions, not being able to see them as often. Making it that much more important to not get locked up later and making them have to take a whole day to drive to visit you.
Those that are locked up have deprived others of material things, possibly even lives and loved ones. What’s wrong with them suffering some of that same deprivation?
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 4:19 pm:
Angry Chicagoan, if you think OUR comments are harsh on the inmates’ families, check out the Tribune’s Topix forum on this story… never saw so many “lock ‘em up and throw away the key” types.
As I stated before, if we are talking about inmates who are serving sentences for violent crimes but have otherwise been well-behaved in prison, I see no reason to punish them further by depriving them of family contact if it is not absolutely necessary. If they are being violent or threatening while in prison, that’s a different story. The safety of staff and other inmates must come first and if they have to be moved, so be it.
- anon - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 4:22 pm:
Why close Stateville to possibly ship inmates to Pontiac? Pontiac is the oldest prison in the state. If the age of a facility is the criteria for closure, then Pontiac should be the next in line.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 4:23 pm:
Closing Stateville won’t actually save much money…in fact, with most prisons already exceeding capacity, its likely that we’ll be opening more prisons soon.
This story is REALLY about Rod Blagojevich trying to put pressure on Democrats in the General Assembly to support gambling expansion as part of a capital plan.
Soon, we’ll here the administration promising to keep stateville open if a capital plan is approved.
If the state actually wants to SAVE money, they should parole the 14,000 non-violent drug offenders in our prisons and get them into community-based drug treatment and monitoring instead.
At $40,000 an inmate, you could cut $560 million from the prison budget, add $300 million to parole, drug treatment, and other supportive services, and still generate $260 million in savings for taxpayers.
- Skirmisher - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 4:25 pm:
I’m sorry, folks, but I don’t think inconvenience to the families of inmates should be any consideration at all in making a decision concerning Stateville. The guys in that facility should have given some thought to their families before they got themselves locked up, and I suspect the families were in most cases fully aware of the criminal actvities and perhaps even the beneficiaries. If they have to pay a price also then they probably have it coming. By the same token, concern for the local economy of Joiet is a false issue. DOC runs a prison system, not an economic development agency. If we have unused modern prison space elsewhere in the state then it ought to be utilized and the old inefficient facilties closed down if that will save money. Jobs lost in one depressed county will simply be new jobs in another depressed county, so in the big scheme of things it makes no difference except perhaps to understandably myopic local politicos.
- STATE WORKER - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 5:16 pm:
I HAVE AN IDEA…..THE GOVERNOR CAN GROUND HIS PLANE AND MOVE TO SPRINGFIELD WHERE HE SHOULD BE LIVING AND USE THAT MONEY TO FIX UP SOME THINGS.
- WARDOG - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 5:26 pm:
Enough money has been spent on overtime to guards because of understaffing in the past three or four years that the state could probably built a couple of prisons and brought the guards up to a more level of staffing in line with what it should be. Most transfers can’t be approved because of absence in vacancies due to corrections being understaffed. Corrections is just like most of all other state agencys under this governor, they remain in a state of chaos.
- Princeville - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 5:52 pm:
From what I’m reading the number of planned beds added around to hold the moved inmates is not the same as the number of inmates currently housed in this section of Stateville. Has the ‘plan’ been carefully thought out? Are the ‘badest of the bad’ gonna be housed in less secure areas?
As far as AFSCME guards, they have their contract rights on transfer and bouncing on one hand, but on the other some won’t get the transfer then it opens up the chance for less experienced guards replacing them. One small example to show the need of well experienced and trained guards woukd be the story in the paper this morning about the aircraft landed and the guard if the gun drawn on the appraoching inmate, lucky for all that guard wasn’t a trigger happy inexperienced fool. Cassandra’s attitude of nobody promising employees lifetime jobs is really out of sight here when one considers the type of inmate supervised. Do you really want the new and inexperienced or the tried and true.
- Anon - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 8:13 pm:
The reason that prisons are built in economicaly blighted areas is that north eastern Illinois does not want these state prisons in their backyards. They should have moved these people to Thompson years ago. It’s new, better designed and will take fewer people to guard the same amount of inmates. Even the families dont want the relatives in their neighborhoods.
- Way Off Here! - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 9:58 pm:
Because of the AFSCME contract, every employee of this facility will have an opportunity to transfer to a new job. If they decline, they will be re-employed within months. Those employees will all be fine. Plus, who can argue with the logic of closing an 80 year old facility and filling up a brand new facility that is sitting empty!
As for the families of the inmates…I’ll cry for them the way they cried for the victims families. These are the worst offenders in the system.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Mar 26, 08 @ 10:24 pm:
this prison swap idea is almost four years old, proposed by some state rep candidate from thomson, about time this state does something half way fiscally smart.
- Undercover - Thursday, Mar 27, 08 @ 12:48 am:
Kevin, you’re dead right about the jobs. Over 500 AFSCME correction officers will be in the capitol in April to give legislators the other side of the story. Stateville is one of the biggest employers in the area.
- David Ormsby - Thursday, Mar 27, 08 @ 8:12 am:
Stateville’s maximum security facility should be closed according to the prison reform and watch dog organization the John Howard Association.
In statement issued on February 28, they said “… every possible consideration must be made to reduce difficulties for the staff…” These guys know what they’re talking about.
http://www.john-howard.org/
- the Patriot - Thursday, Mar 27, 08 @ 9:09 am:
Day late, but anyway:
How are we going to shift the states most violent inmates (except those already tamms) to other facilities which are already understaffed. I sure would not want to be a correctional officer with an influx of new violent offenders and no new COs. What could possibly go wrong?
- Bookworm - Thursday, Mar 27, 08 @ 10:34 am:
What could possibly go wrong, Patriot? I don’t think we even want to think about it…
I believe the DOC chief under Gov. Thompson back in the mid-70s warned him repeatedly that something bad was going to happen — unfortunately the Pontiac riot in ‘78 proved him right. Thompson eventually “rewarded” him for his efforts by firing him, if I’m not mistaken.
- Princeville - Thursday, Mar 27, 08 @ 11:03 am:
Undercover–that sea of green heading for Springfield this spring won’t be the only day the halls flow with green.
- Madison County Watcher - Saturday, Mar 29, 08 @ 10:13 am:
Cassandra - I would be interested in hearing about ideas that cover the “societal punishment” aspect that incarceration facilitates for law-breakers, that would take the place of incarceration. If a non-violent offender is to avoid jailtime, with the thinking that remediation is often not accomplished in prison for these types of offenses, what serves as the “punishment” that equals the loss of rights and freedoms that prison provides?