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* The SJ-R reports on a protest yesterday in front of a state prison…
Shaun Dawson, AFSCME Local 2073 president for Logan Correctional Center, said that an average of 24 assaults on employees take place there each month and that some have resulted in employee hospitalization and long-term injuries.
Logan has a total population of 1,808 female inmates at minimum-, medium- and maximum-security levels.
The union claims that 340 attacks have taken place there in the last 20 months and that those incidents make the prison the second-most-dangerous corrections institution in the state. They attribute the violence to an increased number of inmates with severe mental illnesses housed there.
Correctional officer Chelsea Wilshusen, 25, of Springfield said that she has seen issues with inmate behavior worsen in the course of her two years at the prison. […]
Wilshusen added that disciplinary tickets issued in incidents involving inappropriate inmate behavior have often “disappeared” without resulting in corrective action.
The Department of Corrections denies claims that staff assaults aren’t taken seriously.
* A new AFSCME ad that I’ve seen on social media features an injured DoC employee talking about the problems at prisons and how inmates attacked her…
That video has over 200,000 views, and as we’ve discussed before, YouTube is far more reliable about tracking its video views than Facebook.
*** UPDATE *** Provided on background by IDoC…
· The IDOC has graduated 1,536 new cadets since Governor Rauner entered office. There are an additional 135 in the Academy right now.
· The IDOC has hired 53 additional security staff and 20 additional mental health professionals at Logan CC since October 2015.
· When you account for attrition, from September 2015 to September 2016, the IDOC full time employee count is UP by 185 employees; and UP by 40 employees at Logan CC.
· While the staffing numbers are going up, the IDOC offender population is decreasing. There were 48,214 on January 12, 2015, the day Governor Rauner was sworn in. The offender population as of yesterday, October 17th, 2016 was 44,126.
· As for Alanea’s story, in the ad, please refer to the attached memo, which explains what prompted the staff assault at Pontiac CC, which she is referring to. It is protocol for staff to leave the shakedown slip on the offender’s bed when they remove contraband from his or her cell. This particular lieutenant decided to hand the offender his shakedown slips, identifying the items that were removed from his cell, face-to-face, while he was unrestrained.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Oct 18, 16 @ 11:04 am
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Again. Who wants to be a State worker these days? Especially a state worker in corrections.
State workers are loyal and dedicated. If IPI or CMS would ever report what the median, not “average adjusted for inflation” (IPI) salary for a state worker is you’d then see that it’s not for the money or supposed “Cadillac” benefits. I think my medical providers would get paid for “Cadillac” benefits. I think I wouldn’t have to search for a doctor who would take the state health insurance, etc.
There is honor and commitment to Illinois in our service.
The constant drumbeat to the contrary is one of the many reasons why the state workforce is collapsing.
Every state worker knows that Nov 8th is their chance.
Comment by Honeybear Tuesday, Oct 18, 16 @ 11:21 am
I support the unions but would things be better for the state if the prison staff got paid $17 per hour with COL increase every other year?
Comment by Rocky Rosi Tuesday, Oct 18, 16 @ 11:22 am
Rocky, you’d think that dangerous work would get “hazardous duty” pay like the military. Nope, Rauner is driving like nothing else to drop wages which will further destroy the rural downstate communities.
Comment by Honeybear Tuesday, Oct 18, 16 @ 11:24 am
So Logan is overcrowded and we send increasing numbers of mentally ill people to prison where there is Constitutionally inadequate mental healthcare, and AFSCME’s chief argument is that DOC doesn’t punish mental illness enough?
Stay classy, union supported by Dr. King.
Comment by crazybleedingheart Tuesday, Oct 18, 16 @ 11:29 am
Rich, no story or links to the Bob Creamer video ? Thats sad you should be onjective
Comment by Truth to Power Tuesday, Oct 18, 16 @ 11:30 am
Think I saw a similar ad on CNN last night.
Comment by RNUG Tuesday, Oct 18, 16 @ 12:06 pm
How many of these women, many of whom are probably mothers, need to be in an institutional setting vs.some form of supervised release. Could those with mental illness be better helped in a community setting with more family contact, especially with their kids.
Correctional policy isn’t supposed to be just about punishment and the most restrictive possible settings, although in America’s mass incarceration age, it’s hard to see it.
And obviously, if there were fewer inmates in these prisons, this would contribute to more manageable workloads and safer working conditions.
Comment by Cassandra Tuesday, Oct 18, 16 @ 12:17 pm
Why don’t we stop locking up so many people?
Comment by Bob Tuesday, Oct 18, 16 @ 12:33 pm
Really Rocki???? I worked Stateville for 21 years, St. Charles another 7. Correctional employees get paid a decent amount of money because of the danger that comes with the job. While I worked at Stateville, at least 3 staff members were murdered, 1 employee raped, at least 10 were taken hostage and I won’t fathom a guess at how many were injured due to inmate violence. Find another job with odds like that. We are trained, in fact, receive 6 credit hours for the beginning training. We aren’t/weren’t “rentacops”. How do you cut assaults? MORE STAFF, less overtime. More programs for inmates–if someone has something to look forward to(and being out of the cell is a big plus), they are more apt to want to improve…cuz, again, most inmates get out. If they leave prison with more schooling, a trade, they are much likelier to stay out(In 2012, the difference in recidivism between inmates with no new skiils? Over 70% go back to prison. Get a HS diploma? It drops to under 50%).
And charge inmates who do assault others with the crime! Many times this doesn’t happen…we need to instill both carrots and sticks to make it work.
Instead of attacking hard working men and women who do a job that most people wouldn’t, let’s look at why we give $Millions to Agrabusiness through state subsidies(not family farms, but ADM type businesses), why Caterpillar pays NO Corporate income tax to Illinois,
Comment by Union Thug Gramma Tuesday, Oct 18, 16 @ 12:54 pm
This IL union ad aired on CNN? That is good for the union.
Lets hope the public pressures Rauner to make changes and place the mentally ill inmates in treatment facilities where they belong.
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Oct 18, 16 @ 1:42 pm
She makes a compelling case.
Comment by Happily Retired Tuesday, Oct 18, 16 @ 1:43 pm
Admittedly, I am sympathetic towards the union. However, I think this is a quietly effective ad. Told simply and to the point.
Comment by G'Kar Tuesday, Oct 18, 16 @ 2:04 pm
Is Alanea one of those feather-bedding AFSCAMMY workers we’ve been hearing about from the governor and his Bots for nearly two years now? One of that subgroup of human beings below that of “taxpayer” (even though they’re taxpayers, too)?
Gee, the gig doesn’t sound that cushy to me.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Oct 18, 16 @ 2:21 pm
Cassandra, I agree, but Illinois demolished mental health under Thompson. I remember one kid I had on my caseload(he committed murder…of his girlfriend), who was fine when medicated, he was schizophrenic, but when Thompson cut funding for local mental health facilities, he lost his outpatient facility. He would have NEVER been in prison if he was able to get help in the community.
I would love to mental/emotional health be a priority in this nation/state, but there’s not enough money in it. Same with it’s way past time to legalize marijuana and decriminalize drugs in general…but there are a couple of lobbyist groups(pharma and liquor) that will fight to the death to see that not happen.
Comment by Union Thug Gramma Tuesday, Oct 18, 16 @ 4:12 pm
Crazybleedingheart…to blame the union for the hacking of the mental health facilities in this state is disingenious at best…considering that AFSCME also represents Mental Health. The ad is the words of the worker who was attacked. She may be a bit subjective…cuz she was attacked.
Comment by Union Thug Gramma Tuesday, Oct 18, 16 @ 4:15 pm
Gramma, can you cite some evidence that Thompson “demolished mental health?” Budget books or Approps, Headcount, anything like that.
I was there the whole time and remember closing down all or parts of antiquated, unsafe, worn-out institutions and moving to community-based care. If you think Peoria State Hospital, Mt. Vernon TB Sanitarium, or the older parts of Elgin and Chicago-Read were providing better care, I can’t help you.
Comment by Arthur Andersen Tuesday, Oct 18, 16 @ 5:06 pm