 Snyder was referring to the attendance and show of support that came
from the Lincoln and Logan County community at Wednesday night's
hearing regarding the closure of Logan Correctional Center.
Indeed, the large auditorium in the chapel on the campus of Lincoln
Christian University was packed to nearly full capacity with
supporters of the prison, the vast majority of them wearing their
red "Save Logan" T-shirts and carrying "Save Logan" posters and
signs.
The hearing was conducted by the Commission on Government
Forecasting and Accountability, a 12-member panel consisting of
co-chairs Sen. Jeffrey Schoenberg and Rep. Patricia Bellock; Sens.
Michael Frerichs, Matt Murphy, Suzi Schmidt, Dave Syverson and Donne
Trotter; and Reps. Kevin McCarthy, Elaine Nekritz, Raymond Poe, Al
Riley and Michael Tryon.
It was an opportunity for local
legislators, community leaders, business owners, local civic
organizations, union representatives and Logan Correctional Center
employees to come before a state body and voice their objections and
concerns about the proposed closing of the prison, slated to occur
at the first of the year.
In all, 43 people came forward and spoke about what losing the
correctional center would mean to the city of Lincoln, the county,
local businesses and themselves.
The evening began with state officials coming before the panel.
They were David Vaught, director of the governor's Office of
Management and Budget, and officials from the Illinois Department of
Corrections -- S.A. Godinez, director; Bryan Gleckler, chief
financial officer; and Anne McElroy, chief of labor relations.
In opening statements Vaught outlined the financial situation for
the DOC and said the state could not spend what it didn't have. He
also noted that Gov. Pat Quinn's original budget included money for
all the state's prisons, but the General Assembly did not pass it.
He said Quinn had submitted three vetoes back to the General
Assembly, and if they will sustain the vetoes, there could be a
remedy for the situation.
Vaught also said the state is still going to come up short in
money for prisons by about $50 million, even with the closing of
Logan.
Godinez told the panel he has 38 years of prison experience, 29
of them in Illinois, and the decision to shut down Logan had been a
painful one. He would later refer to himself as the "bad guy" for
proposing Logan be the one to go. He, too, said the $9 million the
state would save in closing Logan wouldn't come close to solving the
problems in the budget.
"I'm not here to say I want to close Logan," Godinez
said. "Instead, I wish for Logan to stay open, and I make a plea for
the Legislature to increase the appropriation level."
After the opening statements, various legislators asked questions
of Godinez and Vaught, including Rep. Raymond Poe, who reminded the
panel that in previous years Pontiac was slated for closure and it
didn't happen. He wondered why now the focus was on Lincoln, instead
of going back to Pontiac.
He also commented on the use of Logan as a transfer site for
prisoners, saying that was a valuable part of the prison, but
Godinez countered by saying the busing in of prisoners for transfer
didn't use the actual prison buildings.
Poe and many others questioned the logic of closing any prison in
Illinois when populations are already far exceeding total prisoner
capacity.
When asked where the prisoners would go, Godinez said there were
11 prisons with gymnasiums. He said Logan was a dormitory-style
facility where the prisoners are already staying in large rooms with
multiple beds, so for them there would be very little change.
Shannon Kelly, AFSCME union president for Logan, would later
correct Godinez's statement, saying only one house at Logan was
dormitory-style.
Sen. Larry Bomke spoke about the efficiency of the Logan
facility, noting the cost per capita of prisoners was lower in Logan
than virtually everywhere else. He asked why the state would want to
close the most efficient prison.
Godinez said he felt that all the prisons were run very
efficiently. He said efficiency was not the only reason for closing
Logan -- that there were other factors involved.
Bomke said, "With all due respect, that doesn't make a lot of
sense," which brought a loud round of applause from the audience.
Bomke also questioned the logic of closing a juvenile facility in
Murphysboro and turning it into an adult facility while also closing
Logan.
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When Rep. Rich Brauer took his turn with questions, he focused on
exactly how the state was saving money by closing Logan.
Gleckler said the total cost reduction would come to $16 million,
but it would cost $7 million to relocate the prisoners, so the net
would be only $9 million for this year.
Brauer asked how housing prisoners in gymnasiums would be cheaper
than running the Logan facility.
Gleckler noted costs for food and clothing, but Brauer countered
those were fixed costs that went with the prisoner wherever he was.
Gleckler then said it would save money in the 356 employees of
the facility. He noted there are over 600 openings in prisons
throughout the state. All the Logan employees could transfer to
other locations, which would save the state dollars in overtime
costs.
Gleckler also said increasing the population in the prisons that
are left open would lower the per-capita operating cost of each
prison.
Brauer said for him, it didn't add up. He said in the end the
state is not going to lower its costs by closing Logan.
Brauer finished by saying, "You're sitting on a dynamite keg here
as you overcrowd prisons even more."
Rep. Bill Mitchell began his questioning of the group by asking
if they knew what the unemployment rate of Logan County was. Vaught
answered by saying he didn't have that information, and Mitchell
countered with, "That says a lot."
Mitchell also asked if the group had seriously worked with the
appropriations committee on this issue. He said, "I'm on that
committee and you haven't talked to me."
Mitchell also targeted Vaught, referring to the meeting at the
governor's office on Tuesday and noting that Vaught wasn't
present. He surmised perhaps he was in Chicago, but Vaught said he'd
been in Springfield all week.
Mitchell also asked about hiring on an executive level and noted
some recent appointments. He punctuated his statements by saying,
"The big dogs are making out OK."
A panel member, Rep. Michael Tyrone, also asked questions of the
group, focusing on the legality of housing prisoners in gymnasiums,
and was told it was not preferable, but there are no laws
prohibiting it.
Tyrone asked if there had been other attempts to cut costs across
the entire department and was told there had been. Gleckler said the
department had identified $14.8 million in other cuts.
Tyrone concluded by saying he for one would not be supporting the
decision to close Logan, which drew loud cheers from the audience.
Sen. Bill Brady also blasted the group with questions, targeting
primarily Godinez. He coaxed Godinez into admitting the Logan
facility was well-run and efficient, then questioned why a prison
that was well-run, efficient and manned by good people would be
targeted. He also questioned public safety with the transfer of
prisoners to already overcrowded facilities and housing them in
gyms, but Godinez maintained there was little risk to the public.
Brady then wondered, if that was the case, why not turn all the
prisons into gymnasiums?
Brady pinned Godinez down, saying, "This doesn't make sense." To
which Godinez said, "I don't disagree." Brady then countered, "So
you do agree, this puts people at risk."
Rep. Patricia Bellock, co-chair of the panel, also asked
questions of the group, wondering if the housing of prisoners in
gymnasiums would be a temporary situation. The answer was, "We hope
so."
This concluded the questioning of the budget director and DOC
officials.
The next step in the hearing was to listen to testimony from
various factions, including elected officials both state and local.
The next segment in this series of coverage of the COGFA hearing
will include that testimony.
[By NILA SMITH]
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