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More on the prison worker investigation

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* As I told you yesterday, the Illinois State Police was down at the Tamms prison yesterday to apparently interrogate Department of Corrections workers about recent leaks to the media. After my story was published, other articles began to appear…

Two weeks after officials searched guards and other employees at various state prisons for contraband, the Illinois State Police is conducting an investigation at the Tamms Correctional Center.

The state police probe is the latest wrinkle in Gov. Pat Quinn’s attempt to close the state’s only supermax prison — a controversial move that has been challenged by state lawmakers and is the subject of a court hearing in Cairo today.

A state police spokeswoman confirmed the investigation Tuesday, but wouldn’t divulge its purpose.

“We are not at liberty to comment on a pending investigation,” spokeswoman Monique Bond said in a statement.

* More…

One of those interviewed told The Associated Press the encounter lasted a few minutes and said “they were trying to intimidate me.” Gov. Pat Quinn, who wants to close the high-security Tamms lockups, said through a spokeswoman he did not order the investigation. The union representing prison employees called on the Democrat to “renounce these heavy-handed tactics.” […]

A correctional counselor called before the investigators said a police special agent displayed her badge and explained it was a criminal investigation involving a leak of private health information. The employee, who described the scene as “very dramatic,” said the special agent briefly turned over a stack of papers but what it contained wasn’t visible.

The counselor, who was also questioned several weeks ago by the Corrections investigator after a news report based on internal data, submitted a written complaint Tuesday.

“I felt like I was being harassed, that they were trying to intimidate me,” said the counselor, whose job includes preparing Tamms inmates for transfer. “It creates a hostile work environment and a distraction, and I don’t feel like I can do my job.”

* Meanwhile, some Tamms inmates are attempting to get a lawsuit tossed…

(S)even inmates at the Tamms prison in far southern Illinois are trying to get a lawsuit thrown out of court. The correctional officers’ union last week filed the suit, which seeks to stop Quinn’s plan to close prison facilities throughout the state.

The inmates, in their response, argue conditions at Tamms are deplorable and that closing the facility will not cause an increase in violence in prisons throughout the state, as the correctional officers have asserted.

The Uptown People’s Law Center in Chicago, representing the inmates, filed motions to intervene in and dismiss the AFSCME suit. Slated for closure are prisons in Tamms and Dwight; adult transition centers in Carbondale, Chicago and Decatur; and youth centers in Joliet and Murphysboro.

AFSCME has requested a temporary restraining order to stop inmate transfers and other closure activities already in motion. A hearing before a circuit judge is scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday in Cairo at the southernmost tip of Illinois.

The facility closures were to be completed by Aug. 31. Quinn has said Illinois cannot afford all of the prison facilities that are open, arguing that Tamms, in particular, is only half full and costly to operate.

AFSCME argues that closing facilities and consolidating inmates will add undue pressure on an already crowded and understaffed system. Violence will increase, and lives are at stake, the union argues.

“The Quinn administration is failing its duty to ensure a safe workplace for its employees. Instead, it is sending men and women to work each day in prisons that the state’s own actions are making more dangerous,” said AFSCME executive director Henry Bayer.

Nicole Schult, an attorney with the law center, said the threat of going to a “super-max” prison does not deter inmate violence within prison systems.

“On the contrary, once Mississippi reduced (its) super-max population, there was a dramatic reduction in prison misconduct and violence,” she said.

State and local lawmakers have argued that the loss of jobs from the closures will be devastating, particularly in southern Illinois, where unemployment remains high.

A hearing is scheduled for today.

* Gov. Pat Quinn defended his decision to close Tamms yesterday…

Quinn said making the decision to shutter Tamms and 56 other small and large facilities “wasn’t easy.”

“We had to do that in order to have a budget that is balanced. I inherited a $10 billion budget deficit. I did not create it, but my job is to repair things,” he said. “I’m doing that.”

* And WBEZ reports that Quinn and his Department of Corrections have blocked their access to a minimum security prison…

Our initial efforts to get inside were denied with one-line emails. Spokeswoman Brooke Anderson eventually had one ten-minute telephone conversation with me explaining their stand. She said I couldn’t go in the prisons because it was a safety and security concern, and it would strain the department’s resources.

I was a little mystified as to how my visit would strain the resources of a billion dollar department, but Anderson said if I visited a prison then they’d have to let other reporters in too. Anderson refused to talk about this on tape. Over the course of weeks she said simply that she was too busy.

* Former inmates report big problems…

When Jerome Suggs was sentenced for driving on a revoked license he was sent to Vienna, a minimum security prison near the southernmost point in Illinois, about 350 miles from Chicago. Suggs was assigned to live on the third floor of a building but there was absolutely no view.

“When I moved up there there was boards up on the windows and I was just looking like, ‘Wow! What is this?” Suggs said. This was Building 19.

Suggs says there was not a single window letting in light and that he was put in a large room with several hundred other men. All of the men were crowded onto bunks with nothing to do. There are 600 inmates in the building and only seven showers and seven toilets, and the toilets often broke and overflowed, resulting in a strong sewage smell.
“The smell that came from the showers and it came into the living quarters and yeah, I used to go to sleep with my pillow over my face, the smell was horrible, man,” Suggs said.

When the weather turned hot the boards came off the windows but then bugs could easily get in through the broken windows. Suggs, who got out just last month, says the place was also overrun with cockroaches.

“Yes! On my bed! Oh yeah. Used to have to swat them off the bed,” he said.

“Okay, my name is Mayo and I was incarcerated for 29 and a half continuous years.” Mayo, who asked that we use just his first name, was convicted in the early ’80s for committing armed robbery. For the last three years of his sentence he was in Vienna and spent some of that time in the now notorious Building 19.

Mayo says, “I thought to myself this is supposed to be a minimum security institution, but this was more like a maximum security institution in that I couldn’t believe that they would actually expect people to live under those type of conditions. The place is infested with rats and the rats were so aggressive that we used to call them kangaroo rats ’cause while I was there quite a few guys had rats actually jump up in bed with them.”

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 9:47 am

Comments

Come on, they are being completely straight with WBEZ, it is just to hard to let someone in to a prison to take a look…

Why do you think the Quinn administration would want to hide jail conditions from anyone, Pat Quinn cares, everyone knows that. He really cares about those folks who work at Tamms, so much the state police stopped by to show how much he cares…

Stop asking this administration awkward questions…

LOL — sorry could not type that with a straight face…

Comment by OneMan Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 9:54 am
Quinn had to anticipate some push back on closures. The shakedowns and criminal investigations are counter-productive.

If he thinks the closures are the right things to do, he should plow ahead and take the licks. That’s life in the NFL.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 10:00 am
=== After my story was published, other articles began to appear… ===

Rich, you should just have that phrase embedded in every posting.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 10:04 am
Let’s not lose sight of a few things:

- Tamms isn’t a corrections center, its a jobs program.

- At roughly $25 million a year, its probably one of the most expensive jobs programs in Illinois.

- There are many more cost-effective ways to incarcerate people

- There are many MUCH more cost-effective ways to improve public safety

- If AFSCME is concerned about prison over-crowding, they should be supporting efforts to reduce incarceration in Illinois, which they haven’t to the best of my knowledge.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 10:13 am
Let me add:

Under Illinois’ current budget reality, you’re either for preventing child abuse and neglect or for locking up nonviolent drug offenders.

You can’t be for both.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 10:15 am
Under Illinois’ current budget reality, you’re either for preventing child abuse and neglect or for locking up nonviolent drug offenders.

Put me down for preventing child abuse….

Comment by OneMan Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 10:28 am
It would be nice if the Tribune editorial board could take a week off from teacher bashing and look into conditions at state prisons.

Comment by Wensicia Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 10:37 am
Reporters and fact-finders visit prisons ALL THE TIME. Wildeboer sets it out pretty simply; the State of Illinois is spending BILLIONS of our dollars to incarcerate prisoners. We have a right to see what we get for our money. End of story.

Comment by Appalling prisons, stupid cover-up Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 10:38 am
Prison is punishment at one location in Illinois. Now all we need to do is make sure the others views are obstructed as well I guess

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 10:38 am
And Quinn is absolutely right to shut Tamms. I don’t want my tax dollars being used to run a torture chamber.

Comment by Appalling prisons, stupid cover-up Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 10:39 am
Anonymous — I am fairly law and order guy, but the dude who can’t understand what a suspended drivers license means is going to be back in my neighborhood some day and I think would be better for all of us if he was treated and incarcerated with some dignity and humanity.

Comment by OneMan Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 10:41 am
I read the WBEZ article elsewhere early this morning. I have to admit I was startled at the conditions described in the article. Yeah, I know prisons are not cushy hotels and all that, but prison time for revoked license. I guess I’m starting to think there has to be a better way to handle such law violations.

But I ‘get’ the otherside too in the current situation. We can’t just keep smacking prisoners in crowded conditions in areas not meant to actually hold the prisoners.

I think the state needs to be open and honest with the conditions and the shortages all around. Then I think it needs to be a priority to elimimate those not really belonging in prison. But I don’t think the answer is to start with closing, smacking them in tighter and putting the guards/staff/inmates into even worse conditions.

I think there needs to be a better route to achieve what needs to be done. No, it can’t happen in a few short months, but the state did’t fill the prisons up overnight and I don’t feel the state is tackling this realistically timewise.

I hate to think of anyone becoming unemployed, but as I like to think I’m a realist, my heart won’t bleed if a person now employed in DOC finds there is no longer a real need for as many positions due to less prisons/prisoners and has to look elsewhere. In the meantime though, their immediate safety and the conditions are where my thoughts are.

Comment by Cindy Lou Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 10:54 am
Reading about inhumane conditions at a minimun security prison indicates that rehabilitation is not a goal in our Dept of Corrections. Research shows that harsh treatment breeds recidivism, not deterrence. Opportunities for education & treatment reduce recidivism.

Comment by reformer Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 11:12 am
instead of trying to track down the source of “leaked health information” the state cops ought to swing over to vienna and look into conditions there. or the auditor general should do it. (NOT an inspector general)

Comment by langhorne Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 11:13 am
@Cindy Lou-

Unless I’ve misread reports, displaced DOC employees would be at the front of the line for job openings elsewhere. Perhaps an increase in guards at other facilities to offset AFSCME’s concerns is part of the solution.

But that solution should not come at the expense of preventing child abuse, which is not only a moral obligation, but prevents much bigger and costlier problems down the road. Including murder.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 11:17 am
And 10:41 anonymous — Hey, you might want to check out that “cruel and unusual punishment” section in the ACLU manifesto, oops, I mean the Constitution. And apart from everything else — do you really think it’s a good idea to let the prisons fall apart? Wouldn’t a lawsuit cost a lot more than new windows? I don’t want to pay higher taxes just so you can feel happier knowing that cockroaches are crawling into the ears of some minor drug users. Nor do I want to pay more to have those cockroaches removed by a doctor.

Comment by Appalling prisons, stupid cover-up Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 11:24 am
Ok…By Paragraph:
What people should be wondering is what DOC is trying so hard to silence, and why?

The inmates motion to join was denied. It is noteworthy that she quoted MS closing their Super-Max which was also after joining with Vera in the same type of project as IL. But people dont want to research that.

Closing Tamms is not and never has been about the Budget. If it were Quinn would not have started the groundwork to close it 2 1/2 years ago. Also, the Deficit he inherited, he was Lt. Gov during that time, so he kind of inherited something of his own making.

WBEZ should know that at tmes some reporters have been allowed in, and at other times they have not. This isnt the first time that this has happened to a reporter.

The fact that what was once a model institution for the whole country in its free movement and programs offered to inmates has now turned into what it is now, is a shame.

Comment by SO IL M Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 11:38 am
–Also, the Deficit he inherited, he was Lt. Gov during that time, so he kind of inherited something of his own making.–

Dude, if you want to be credible, you might want to leave that point out next time. If there is such a thing as Least Influential Lt. Gov. among the roster of all powerless Lt. Govs., it was Quinn.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 11:44 am
- Closing Tamms is not and never has been about the Budget. If it were Quinn would not have started the groundwork to close it 2 1/2 years ago. -

FACT CHECK:

According to annual reports from the Illinois Department of Corrections, “enrollment” in Tamms peaked in 2005-2006 at 464, which was actually virtually unchanged from the previous year (461).

The prison’s population has declined steadily ever since, both in its maximum security facilities and its minimum security facilities.

The one thing that did not change throughout that whole time is that Tamms is far-and-away the most expensive facility to operate.

You can read the reports for yourself here.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 12:44 pm
Is there a Legislator(s) who is considered a prison reform advocate?

Just curious…

Comment by Left Leaner Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 1:34 pm
SO IL M — what, exactly, do you think a Lt. Governor does? You might want to check out your state constitution…

Comment by Soccermom Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 2:03 pm
@Left Leaner -

Connie Howard chaired the Criminal Law committee, held a degree in criminal justice, and was considered reform-minded.

No telling who will chair the committee now that she is retired.

However, I believe the IDOC budget goes through Approp - Public Safety, chaired by Rep. Arroyo. Not sure what his position is on the IDOC budget, but a budget that kept Tamms open was passed, if that tells you anything.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 2:07 pm
@Soccermom -

Blagojevich couldn’t even decide which cereal to have for breakfast without consulting with Quinn, and Obama was a a Madigan toadie Haven’t you read your copy of The GOP Revisionist History of Illinois?

YDD

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 3:14 pm
YDD — For a second, I thought you had lost your mind.

Comment by Soccermom Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 3:16 pm
The fact that Tamms is “underused” should be enough to show that it is being used correctly. You need to remember that no inmate is sentenced to Tamms they earn their way there. I’ve seen inmates sentenced to thousands of years and have never seen a day in Tamms. The ones who are there are there by their own choice!

Comment by Lowers23 Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 3:33 pm
The money which Sara Feigenholtz insisted be cut from the DCFS budget was not given to DOC. It was appropriated by her committee to other human services. The money added to DOC to keep facilities open did not come from human services, it came from other places in Quinn’s public safety budget submission.
It’s nice that the Governor has followers who are willing to parrot his talking points, but the assertion that DOC got money from DCFS is simply false.
Of course, the Governor is so detached from the legislative process, it is possible he doesn’t know he is spreading untruths.

Comment by truthteller Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 3:59 pm
@truthteller Thank goodness for the facts! It’s too damn bad that folks don’t let the facts get in the way of their arguments!

Comment by anon Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 4:28 pm
The two newest prisons are Tamms and Thompson. One sits empty and the other soon will be. Instead, the state will warehouse more criminals in two prisons built in the 1800s. That’s good, responsible government?

Comment by Michelle Flaherty Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 4:43 pm
@Truthteller-

ALL the money comes from GRF. Those are the facts.

The General Assembly chose to spend that money the way they chose to spend it.

Largely through the process of “across the board cuts.”

Which sound reasonable at first, but is alot like trying to lose ten pounds by eating 10 percent less vegetables, 10 percent less cookies, and drinking 10 percent less beer.

Budget reform is about setting priorities.

We need to eat MORE vegetables and cut out the beer and cookies altogether.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 5:24 pm
@Lowers23-

Half of Tamms is minimum security.

You’re arguing we won’t really be getting our
Money’s worth out of Tamms until there is only one inmate left.

You could make the same argument about the entire prison system, which really shows you the insanity of the logic.

My grandpa used to say “When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 5:30 pm
Wordslinger and Soccermom—–Quinn blaming the previous Administration is credible? No matter how irrellevant and powerless he was, he was right there and fully behind Blago after 4 years and was more than happy to sign on for another term. Yes I know how little he had to do with any decisions made. So tell you what, I will compromise. If Quinn wont try to blae the last Administration, then I wont mention that he was actually part of that Administration.

YDD—- And what part of that disputes the fact that Quinn started laying the groundwork 2 1/2 years ago to close Tamms, and it is not about the Budget as he keeps claiming. Tamms was never, from the time it was planned, intended to be full. It was known from the beginning that the poulation there would vary due how many inmates at any one time were deemed fit to be there. As has already been pointed out, inmates dont get sent directly to Tamms from the streets. Inmates at Tamms have been sent there for there actions after they were in prison.

I dont need to read reports on I actually know what has gone on there.

Comment by SO IL M Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 5:46 pm
Left leaner
The late Rep. Eddie Washington chaired the old Prison Reform Committee. He died in 2010. Rep. Julie Hamos helped generate pressure to reform Tamms.

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 6:08 pm
For this and so many other things..Quinn should be ashamed. His legacy will be that of the worst Illinois governor that didn’t go to prison !

Comment by The Steamer Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 7:06 pm
the WBEZ story:
http://www.wbez.org/news/gov-quinn-keeps-public-dark-prison-conditions-101548?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cprmetro+%28WBEZ%27s+Metro+Desk+%29,
is right on target. Double-faced Quinn supposedly so moralistic, is keeping the lid on just how bad state prisons have gotten. My friend was in Bldg 19 under the conditions described where there was only one guard to ask if any of the men wanted to leave the floor to use the bathroom (one at a time) and property could not be secured. Course, my friend was also physically attached and suffered hearing loss but the state refused to prosecute the inmate who attacked him. Now, he has been attacked and injured again, and still no report made.Grievances are just paper, lost and ignored. Not responded to.

Comment by Terri Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 8:49 pm
Truth Teller: You have idea what you are talking about.

Comment by Give Me A Break Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 9:29 pm
Stateville pays out more in overtime than the entire budget of Tamms. Close this prison and open Thomson.. That makes budget sense.. But all the liberal advocates in chicago don’t want this to happen. Closing Tamms because of budget problems is BS!

Comment by Stateville Wednesday, Aug 8, 12 @ 11:40 pm
Stateville—Actually refitting one house in Thomson as a Super-max Unit and fencing it off from the rest of the institution, as Pelican Bay, and moving Tamms and Stateville both into it would be a great compromise, But this would only be if it was really about the budget.

Comment by SO IL M Thursday, Aug 9, 12 @ 8:23 am
The Illinois State Police investigate HIPAA violations? Whose medical records - employees or inmates? Really?

Comment by bigdaddygeo Thursday, Aug 9, 12 @ 10:41 am
When he said Quinn started laying the groundwork 2 & a half years ago he is correct. That was when Director Randle did his 10 point reform project, around the same time that the violent prisoners were released early in the MGT PUSH program. The Vera Intstitute came in to do an experimental segregation elimination project. Just like the one in Mississippi and Ohio, were Director Randle came from, on charges of corruption and fraud.
At the time of the Randle’s report, the John Howard Association held the view that Tamms would be ok with the reforms, which were mainly due process, adjustment committee hearings, and mental health services.
Funny how the facts do seem to get in the way for you liberals. This stuff is all available on the IDOC website, and you can find Director Randle’s shameful conspiracy to commit fraud in Ohio, with his frat buddy online.
Yellow Dog, if they are using figures based on 265 inmates to come up with a $64,000 a year per inmate total, that number decreases when they have more inmates. It is called distributive math, and your knowledge of the criminal justice system makes me wonder if you are an Art Professor at Northwestern.
You might also recall the scandal to the Quinn appointed Director of DCFS, where he was not at work and bilking the state out of thousands of dollars. If you are so concerned with preventing child abuse, perhaps you should go after Quinn for his appointments of directors that aren’t even good political hacks, but rather inept criminals. Don’t worry, the FEDS have room for him too!
@ Rich if you look into my statements you can find every one of them is valid. Did anyone see the prison riot in Mississippi after the Vera Institute did the segregation elimination experiment and Miss. got rid of their SHU? Money well spent. You can’t blur the facts.
@ Yellow Dog, if you had a hammer…..lol so hard at you and your grandpappy!

Comment by Panopticon Thursday, Aug 9, 12 @ 11:13 am
@Yellow Dog, if you only knew how it worked in the wonderful world of IDOC. If it were ever really about budget it wouldnt have been about closing 4 different prisons in the last 4 years it would have always been the same one, but usually after they get shot down in one district they just move on and try another, all the while claiming to save money.

Comment by Lowers23 Thursday, Aug 9, 12 @ 3:20 pm