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After huge drop in inmate population, Pontiac and Vandalia prisons to be vastly downsized

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Illinois

* A month after he was sworn into office in 2015, Gov. Bruce Rauner issued an executive order establishing a commission on criminal justice and sentencing reform with the goal of reducing the state’s prison population by 25 percent in 2025.

Illinois incarcerated about 48,000 people at the end of 2014. That population was down to about 28,000 at the end of 2021, a whopping 42 percent decrease.

* Monday…

State lawmakers are going public with concerns about the future of the prison in Pontiac and another in Vandalia in southern Illinois.

Bloomington-Normal Rep. Dan Brady is among several who have co-signed an open letter to the state Department of Corrections asking for clarification on the reasons for transfers of prisoners from Pontiac and Vandalia correctional centers. Brady said quiet questions beforehand received conflicting responses.

“Everything from there has been mechanical issues, whether it’s heat or other types of facility issues at the prison to the fact that it’s a planned scenario of moving prisoners,” said Brady.

Brady said there are reports more than 100 inmates have been transferred out of the correctional center in Livingston County alone. The rated capacity at the prison is 1,255.

* WEEK…

The future of Pontiac Prison is in question as a new report details a possible partial closure that would reduce the maximum inmate population by more than 60 percent, starting as soon as March.

A Illinois Department of Corrections report obtained by 25 News proposes to close three units within the prison, which have a combined bed total of more than 1,000. The stated reason is to reduce staff overtime hours and staffing shortages due to COVID, as well as avoid costly repairs to the aging facility. […]

The prison was slated to be closed back in 2018, but that never came to be. The current plan appears relatively neutral on staff, but it does also call for a partial closure of the prison in Vandalia.

We contacted IDOC and were sent to the governor’s office for a comment. A spokesperson for the governor said only, no prisons are slated to be closed.

* Lee Enterprises…

Citing a reduction in the state’s prison population and the increasing cost of maintaining older structures, the Illinois Department of Corrections plans to drastically downsize its prisons in Pontiac and Vandalia.

According to an overview of the proposal obtained by Lee Enterprises, the IDOC plans to shutter the medium security unit of Pontiac Correction Center by March 16. The unit currently holds 329 inmates and has a maximum capacity of 431.

Later this spring or summer, the facility’s east and west cellhouses, which have a combined 667 beds and currently house 339 inmates, would shutter, leaving only the north and south cellhouses and mental health units operational.

Altogether, operational capacity at the correctional facility would be reduced from 1,740 to just 642. […]

The downsizing of Vandalia will not require the transfer of any prisoners, who will be divided among the four remaining dormitories.

Comments

===State lawmakers are going public with concerns about the future of the prison in Pontiac and another in Vandalia in southern Illinois.===

The irony here of the “Crime” play this cycle, while Rauner was attempting to lower prison populations while in office… and now is the concern… “publicly”?

How are all those Rauner reforms looking now… I mean besides the idea of prisons (*cough* job losses *cough*) and the worry of closures.

Will this be a push for “more prison, more prisons built too” by the GOP?

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 9:18 am
A public sector shrinkage I can support

Comment by SWIL_Voter Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 9:20 am
Politics are gonna politics, but this is a rare success story of the Rauner Administration.

Comment by Arsenal Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 9:23 am
As someone who has been through numerous COGFA hearings on state facility closures, the gov’s team should stand by for the following.

The GOP lawmakers who all talk smaller government, running gvt like a business and doing more with less, will rally the locals who all believe in smaller gvt too, to raise nine kids of heck about this.

It will get ugly, really ugly.

Comment by Give Me A Break Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 9:24 am
Republican Governor Bruce Rauner’s publicly stated goal of reducing by 25 percent the number of criminals Illinois locks up.

Just wanted to restate the policy goals of Republican Governor Bruce Rauner.

Maybe I can find a picture of all the GOP lawmakers standing behind him to go with it.

Comment by Nefarious Veneer Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 9:26 am
Ah, reducing the correctional industrial complex.

Time for the small gubmint pols to walk it like they talk it.

Comment by Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 9:26 am
Maybe the downsizing is among the consequences of AFSCME opposing the vaccine mandate for Corrections staff?

Comment by NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 9:28 am
Seeing as the main platform of the ILGOP is to lock up more “criminals” I have to assume that they disagree with their former Governor’s policy and the results. So do Irvin/Griffin see this as a success or failure?

Comment by Big Dipper Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 9:30 am
Bruce and Diana Rauner bought both caucus for a reported $50 million.

There were gonna be no #%*+ problems with the plan to reduce prison populations.

Times change, the Floridian Bruce Rauner has moved on too.

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 9:31 am
A vast government bureaucracy that deserves a cut (or an amputation).

Comment by Google Is Your Friend Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 9:33 am
Is there a correlation between declining prison population, and all the hyperbola about astronomical increases in violent crime? How does that work?

Comment by H-W Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 9:33 am
Well, this really should make the ILGOP happy as IDOC reduces costs. Isn’t that a good thing??

To me, it does not sound like the ILGOP is for what it is for.

Confusing.

Comment by JS Mill Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 9:35 am
Certain sectors of the legislator love calling for cutting government spending, but never want to actually identify where the cuts should be. Then as soon as the cuts end up risking projects in their district, suddenly that’s a problem.

Comment by Homebody Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 9:36 am
==Is there a correlation between declining prison population, and all the hyperbola about astronomical increases in violent crime?=

Not really. Believe it or not, criminals aren’t deep thinkers, so the consequences of their actions don’t weigh heavily on their decision-making process.

Comment by Arsenal Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 9:38 am
If there is so much space they need to downsize then perhaps the governor and IDOC can start taking the full load of detainees from jails that they’ve been letting sit and backlog because of COVID.

Comment by A Rose Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 9:42 am
Big difference between closing a prison versus closing buildings at a prison. One has the possibility of destroying families and towns. The other has the possibility of a highly paid prison guard having to work in a different building.

Comment by Pete Mitchell Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 9:43 am
48,000 people in prison in 2014. Think about that.

And then consider how many were put there for things that should be or now are decriminalized. I won’t for now even start to figure out how many were black in a state where only 14% of the population is black.

The United States sure loves to throw people behind bars.

Comment by Cool Papa Bell Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 9:49 am
The coloration of the declining drop in population is directly related to courts and their sentencing. DOC does not take in near as many criminals because the GA passes laws that limit sentencing. And there has been an attempt, successfully, to release those offenders with not much time left on their sentences.

Pontiac, not unlike Menard and others, are horribly old prisons; they need to become museums. As for budgets, unless you work for the agency, I think it’s unwise to make sweeping comments about staffing/overtime, facilities, etc. With COVID still around, it doesn’t matter how much staff you have available…people are still being forced to work overtime.

Comment by Alice Childress Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 9:51 am
prison space and incarceration rates in general are widely discussed now. the aim should be about right sizing and ensuring that those who should be away from society are in, both at the adult and juvenile level. people who are a danger. and there is a question of justice and whether some who are not a danger deserve the deprivation of their liberty. also when you see mass incarceration, you might also think about mass victimization, map the bodies harmed and you will find a correlation with those who harm. mass victimization is real in some communities. there needs to be discussion of the validity of punishment. the question of justice. This is a discussion for both the state and federal systems. Let’s take the case of the alderman just convicted. is he a danger to others? should prison space be taken by him? the glee about downsizing should be tempered by the need to prevent harm and preserve justice.

Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 9:53 am
“How does that work?”
When violent criminals are locked up, they aren’t out doing crime.

Comment by Correcting Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 9:57 am
Prisons are a highly efficient and effective way to create jobs in rural areas. The State should ensure there’s a prison in every rural county. Oh, and pigs fly.

Comment by Sir Reel Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 10:02 am
Yea, and half those inmates are now in Chicago mugging people.

Comment by allknowingmasterofraccoondom Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 10:03 am
[Sarcasm font on] Close the prisons where the locals most strongly voted against the Fair Tax?

Comment by Anyone Remember Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 10:05 am
legalizing pot has a lot to do with this and why prison guard and police unions are anti-legalization as it cost THEM jobs. who cares who pays for those jobs

Comment by truthteller Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 10:06 am
Vandalia was on the chopping block in the early 2000s. Old facilities are expensive to maintain.

Comment by anon2 Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 10:09 am
==Vandalia was on the chopping block in the early 2000s.==

IIRC that was in 2004 in the midst of Blago’s first budget impasse with the GA.

Comment by NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 10:12 am
Perhaps we should seize the opportunity to remake Illinois’ Department of Corrections into an entity that actually does something other than lock away human beings for a set period of time. We should focus on expanding programs that reduce recidivism and promote education and job training now that inmates aren’t being forced to wash cars so their guards can fund raise for the Christmas party.

There’s much room for improvement in how we address crime in the state and the GOP only seeks to lock away people forever rather than take a comprehensive approach to reducing crime.

Big talk. No results. No plan. Empty suits, vacant minds, and absent hearts. This is what the GOP of the 21st century has become. It is no place for a moral person who seeks to leave the world better than they found it or to actually improve the lives of others.

Comment by Candy Dogood Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 10:17 am
>>should focus on expanding programs that reduce recidivism and promote education and job training

Comment by Alice Childress Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 10:33 am
==now that inmates aren’t being forced to wash cars so guards can fund raise for the Christmas Party

Facebook level comment right there. No inmate was ever forced to wash cars. Car washing was a job inmates applied and were compensated for - and it was one the highest sought after jobs by the inmates.

Comment by Former DOC Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 10:37 am
New campaign slogan: “Elect Irvin and we will fill up those prisons.”/s

Comment by G'Kar Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 10:41 am
don’t know why my entire post didn’t go through…

>>should focus on expanding programs that reduce recidivism and promote education and job training

Comment by Alice Childress Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 10:41 am
Well that’s one way of getting back at AFSCME. Nothing the union can really do about closures.

Comment by Honeybear Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 10:43 am
third time may be the charm…I think I put a character in there I shouldn’t have…

CD: should focus on expanding programs that reduce recidivism and promote education and job training

Addressing this first: DOC has these programs in place and does promote job training at facilities. You’re speaking to something you know nothing about.

To your first comment, the DOC does not “lock away human beings” as that duty is held by prosecutors and courts. It’s unfortunate that you are unicorn/rose colored glasses about a significant percentage of the prison population and HOW they arrived at a prison. You kill, assault, violate another person or their property, get caught…well, prison is most likely where you end up, and up spending a significant about of time.

Comment by Alice Childress Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 10:43 am
Of note, the census counts prisoners as residents of the town they are incarcerated in. State and federal money is often distributed to municipalities based on population.

When the prison population goes down, the population of the town the prison is in goes down. Less money comes into the town even without a single job at the prison going away.

Keep that facet in mind when reading the responses of politicians. They are fully aware of this, but never publicly acknowledge it.

Comment by TheInvisibleMan Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 10:54 am
“- allknowingmasterofraccoondom - Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 10:03 am:

Yea, and half those inmates are now in Chicago mugging people.”

Cool take. Yes more people in prison is what we need. /s

“When the prison population goes down, the population of the town the prison is in goes down. Less money comes into the town even without a single job at the prison going away.”

Yes, this suggests a more structural problem with how money is allocated. This should not be reason to keep prison populations high, which I don’t think is what you’re insinuating for the record.

Comment by left of what Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 11:06 am
As it turns out, having communities rely on *prisons* is actually kind of bad and creates pretty messed up incentives as far as the criminal justice system goes.

Comment by Nick Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 11:07 am
It sounds like there is room for felons caught repeatedly with guns, and violent carjackers and others that should be locked up.

Comment by DuPage Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 11:13 am
==DOC has these programs in place and does promote job training at facilities. You’re speaking to something you know nothing about.==

As someone that used to work at one of these facilities, I can tell you that the “promotion” of them was minimal and there is a ton of room for expansion of them.

To the post: while I’m sad to see a local facility getting this kind of treatment, most folks around here figured it would happen at some point. Given the age and build of it, as well as the overall change in tone of IDOC in the last 10 years, the only surprising thing is that it’s taken this long. Best thing I can say for staff is that at least nobody is being laid off as a result of any of this.

Comment by Fixer Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 11:17 am
===>should focus on expanding programs that reduce recidivism and promote education and job training===

Give an example please

Comment by Bad Habits Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 11:47 am
===And then consider how many were put there for things that should be or now are decriminalized.===

How many?

Comment by Bad Habits Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 11:49 am
“- allknowingmasterofraccoondom - Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 10:03 am:

Yea, and half those inmates are now in Chicago mugging people.”

And your source for this is?
Save money by reducing prison size. Keep people out of prison by allowing people to earn enough to live comfortably - adequate minimum wage. Support communities with adequate medical, mental health and education resources, work to rehab prisoners so they can be productive members of society. Lock up the violent criminals. Societies which do these things don’t have to lock up so many their citizens. The US has some of the the highest incarceration rates in the world, Let’s work on being Number 1 in other categories.

Comment by froganon Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 11:51 am
—-Yea, and half those inmates are now in Chicago mugging people.

I thought they were cooking meth downstate?

See how offensive that is?

Comment by ArchPundit Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 11:54 am
IF there are any savings (unlikely), they should redirect said monies to DCFS

Comment by RNUG Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 1:17 pm
==IF there are any savings (unlikely), they should redirect said monies to DCFS==

Based on documents sent to the facilities, the estimated cost of repairs at Pontiac just for the East/West complex is $3.8 million for masonry and roof issues. Vandalia is showing a projected cost avoidance of $12.6 million and total deferred maintenance of $75 million. This isn’t even factoring in OT currently being paid out due to staffing levels being around 40% below allocated levels.

There seems to be real, actual savings here from what I can tell.

Comment by Fixer Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 1:55 pm
For those of you wondering when any GOP will step forward and say this is a good thing Rauner did, I think we first need to see our buddy LP lauding it.
Translation: it’s not going to happen

Comment by Lurker Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 2:05 pm
Well good on Rauner! Wow that feels weird to say that.

I don’t think the prison population has all that much to do with crime in Chicago. An awful lot of crime perpetrators never get caught in the first place to wind up bypassing the prison system.

I would like to see our penal system actually focused on real rehabilitation. Get the people who come in assessed for mental health issues and get those issues addressed by real therapy, not just group. Then get them good quality vocational training and/or academic education so they can earn some credentials (whether that’s an GED, Associates, Bachelors or certificate training. Get them ready to step out of prison as a new woman or man ready to take on the challenges they’ll face.

If they have kids maybe parenting classes as well especially if they’re scheduled to get out before their kids are grown.

Comment by cermak_rd Wednesday, Feb 16, 22 @ 2:45 pm