Hundreds turn out for the CoGFA Public Hearing regarding Logan Correctional Center
- Large Rally begins at the Logan County Courthouse and marches to the hearing
- Promised CoGFA vote on Friday does not happen

 

[June 14, 2024] 

On Thursday, June 13th, there was a public hearing regarding the closure, demolition, and rebuilding of the Logan Correctional Center (Logan CC) in Lincoln. The hearing was preceded by a rally held outside the Logan County courthouse on Lincoln’s square. Many attended the rally wearing green shirts that sported the slogan “Logan CC belongs in Logan County.” Shirts were being distributed from the back of a truck and people were handing out other signs with a similar message.

The rally began at 4 p.m. Everyone on the Courthouse grounds was ushered into one central area for photos. They then practiced their chant: “What do we want? Logan CC! Where do we want it? Logan County!”

The practice was followed by several speakers, including Kenny Johnson, a correctional officer at Logan CC, Senator Sally Turner of Illinois’ 44th district, and Representative Bill Hauter of Illinois’ 87th district.

All of the speakers talked about the importance of keeping Logan CC in Logan County. Hauter referred to Logan CC as a “promise” to the people of Logan County. He also accused Governor J. B. Pritzker of moving Logan CC to the Chicagoland area to support his “Chicago favored political allies.” Hauter went on to describe the Illinois Department of Corrections’ (IDOC) and Pritzker’s arguments for moving Logan CC “weak” and a “pure political decision.”

7031 You Tube Video – Save Logan CC rally march begins on the south side of the Logan County Courthouse

7032 – You Tube Video – Rally march to protest closure of Logan County Correctional Center reaches the corner of Kickapoo and Broadway Streets

0733 – You Tube Video – Pan view shows the massive number of people who attended the rally

JEFF THIS IS THE ONE FROM YESTERDAY – You Tube Video - Rally March heads down Broadway Street to the Lincoln Junior High School

Once 4:30 p.m. hit, the rally began its march from the courthouse to Lincoln Junior High School (LJHS), the site of the public hearing. The crowd chanted the whole way down Broadway Street, fondly observed by local business owners, including J & M Meat Market. The police blocked off the road to keep the marchers safe as they walked. Upon arriving at LJHS, everyone began to file in through the front door, turning right, and entering the gymnasium that had been set up for the hearing.

Just before going into LJHS for the hearing, LDN was able to talk with Senator Sally Turner for a brief interview.

When asked what motivates her to fight for Logan CC, Turner said, “look around. All our people are here. Families are here, individuals are here, employees are here, loved ones of those that are incarcerated are here, businesses are here. They’re all here. These are good jobs that will be going to the Chicagoland area, and for what?”

Senator Turner was then asked to comment on Governor Pritzker’s statement on Logan County needing to invest more in private industry and not rely on government funding.

Senator Turner had this to say: “I believe he said the prison shouldn’t be your economic development. It’s interesting, though, because the mayor [of Crest Hill] said, ‘yay, we’re really glad that you’re coming here. It will help our economic development.’ Isn’t that interesting? If they want to give us some more tools for that [that would be great], but since the closure of LDC [Lincoln Developmental Center], we have not gotten any help.” LDC closed its doors back in 2002.

Around 5 p.m., most of the people were seated in the gymnasium. Shortly after, the hearing began. To say the room was tense would be an understatement. Attendance was taken, and of the many Illinois Congresspeople’s names who were called, only three were in attendance. These three were Senator David Koehler, Democrat from the 46th district, Representative C. D. Davidsmeyer, Republican from the 100th district, and Senator Donald Dewitte, Republican from the 33rd district. These three Congressmen were the primary people asking questions of the panelists.

There were a handful of panels that sat before the Congressmen. Each panelist was given two minutes to speak. A light in front of them would turn from green to yellow when their time was running short, from yellow to red when their time was almost up, and would start beeping at them and flashing red when they had gone over their two minutes. Most of the panelists of the night, both those in favor of and opposed to relocating Logan CC, went over time.

The first panel included five representatives from IDOC who presented the plan as it existed, as well as justifications for moving Logan CC to the Chicagoland area, namely, Crest Hill, Illinois. During this panel, it was revealed that the designs for the new facility were not yet finished, and that the location had not yet been officially decided upon. The IDOC representatives did discuss demolishing Stateville Correctional Center, which is in Crest Hill, and rebuilding that facility and Logan CC as one. The justification given for moving Logan CC to Crest Hill was several fold. Firstly, IDOC stated that since over 40% of the women currently incarcerated at Logan CC are from Cook and the Collar Counties (DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will), moving it would create a more “regionalized” approach to women’s incarceration in Illinois.

“Regionalized” seemed to mean that there would be a women’s correctional center up north, as well as the one more centrally located in the state at Decatur.

The IDOC representatives also talked about the benefit of having a women’s prison in an area that had more resources available. Since the women from Cook County incarcerated at Logan CC tend to have longer sentences, IDOC stated that they needed greater access to resources for rehabilitation. The representatives from IDOC went on to explain that the new facility will be built with more resources as well. This, they argued, will result in less recidivism.

After the IDOC panel spoke, the three Congressmen had a chance to ask questions of the panel. Senator Koehler made the statement that, since the three of them had had the chance to tour both Stateville CC and Logan CC, Stateville seemed in greater need of repair of the two. He then asked how much it would cost to refurbish Logan CC, to which the answer was approximately $130 million. The price of building the new facility in Crest Hill was stated to be about $400 million, but that number was met with skepticism from the Congressmen. They stated that the cost of building in the Chicagoland area is always more expensive when compared to Central Illinois.

Representative Davidsmeyer asked about what moving employees from Logan CC to other correctional centers across the state would look like in regard to the employees’ salaries, progress towards promotions, retirement, etc.

The IDOC representatives stated that they would work with the unions, have meaningful discussions, and would follow the steps outlined in the collective bargaining agreement “to a T.”

Davidsmeyer then asked if IDOC was creating a “self-fulfilling prophecy” by announcing Logan CC’s closure 3-5 years before it would be set to close. Many staff may try to transfer to other facilities or may leave their positions altogether if they know their positions at Logan CC have an expiration date. Davidsmeyer then argued that this could lead to difficulty filling those positions until Logan CC closes, as not many people would want to start a new job knowing they would not be working there for long.

The panel ended with the IDOC representatives clarifying that, while a decision had not yet been made on where Logan CC will be rebuilt, the decision to rebuild it had already been made. Senator Dewitte asked if this meant that Logan CC could potentially be rebuilt in Lincoln, to which IDOC responded by repeating their previous statement.

The next panel was comprised of five women who had been incarcerated at Logan CC for varying lengths of time and at different times. It should be noted that all of these women were residents of the Chicagoland area. They went on to describe the conditions of Logan CC when each of them was there. None of them had many positive things to say regarding the condition of the facility, describing it as “filthy” and “overcrowded.” Walls were described as crumbling and it was stated that mold was in the showers. Sewage would occasionally back up into the hallways and raccoons were in the ceiling. Some of the women went so far as to describe Logan CC as a place that “should not have been housing humans” and the conditions there as “conditions no human being should experience.”

The first three women who spoke on this panel acknowledged that, while they supported Logan CC’s move to the Chicagoland area, they also recognize that IDOC’s plan does not recognize the economic impact that moving this facility will have on local communities.

Senator Dewitte thanked the women for recognizing this, sharing that Lincoln had already had a lot of negative impact on its economy. Dewitte then went on to describe all of the jobs lost due to the closures of LDC, Lincoln College, and Lincoln Christian University.

Several other panels followed, all of them with panelists who argued against closing Logan CC and moving it away. Instead of breaking down each panel, what follows is a breakdown of each argument made, as several arguments overlapped panels or were brought up by every panel.

Firstly, everyone agreed that Logan CC needed to be refurbished at the least and completely rebuilt at the most. No one argued in favor of the facility’s current condition. They did argue, however, that this should be done in Lincoln. In Lincoln, Logan CC would remain centrally located within the state.

Abby Ingram argued that for inmates coming from the farther south parts of Illinois, moving it to the Chicagoland area would make it significantly harder for families to come and visit their loved ones. It was also argued that the transferring of prisoners from the southern part of the state all the way up to Chicagoland would be harder, take more time, and be more dangerous than only moving them to Lincoln.

Another argument made was on the Decatur Corrections Center’s ability to house Logan CC women. Should some of the women want to stay located closer to the middle of the state, this may not be an option for them. Decatur CC is only a minimum level facility, shared Alfred Campbell, who currently works there. Logan CC houses minimum, medium, and maximum level offenders, the latter two of whom would have no choice but to be moved up to the new Crest Hill facility. Campbell went on to state that Decatur CC had its first escape attempt in 2023 and its first assault on a staff member in 2022. Both of these instances, Campbell said, were the result of an inmate being housed there who should have been placed at a higher level security facility. It was also shared that since Decatur CC has a women and children’s program, sex offenders cannot legally be placed there regardless of their offense level.

The argument was made by many that most of the staff currently working at Logan CC could not or would not move to another IDOC facility in the state. For many, the prospect of leaving Lincoln or Central Illinois is unthinkable or nigh impossible. Johnson shared that he could not think of a single coworker who would move if Logan CC were moved. Some panelists shared personal details describing why they could not move.

One woman shared that she and her husband both work at Logan CC. They also have a daughter who is battling cancer and who has doctors in Peoria. Her husband is also his father’s primary care giver. His father lives in the area and is also suffering from cancer.

Problems with staffing both the old facility as well as the any new facility was another issue brought up by many panelists. Campbell shared that he is a screener for new employees of IDOC facilities across the state. Several people who he has been screening for employment have already been asking questions about Logan CC closing. They ask why they should work at that facility if the job has a guaranteed end date.

Josh Marine, an instructor at Logan CC, shared that the staff has had to work very hard over the years to become as well trained as they are today. They worked hard to get access to training for their employees to meet all the needs of their diverse inmates. Many others shared similar details, stating that you will not find a more well trained IDOC staff in Illinois.

Some panelists made arguments on the negative economic impact that Lincoln and Logan County would feel should Logan CC be moved from the county. Closing the facility would take over 450 jobs from people in Logan County as well as some of the surrounding counties. Mayor of Lincoln, Tracy Welch, who could not be in attendance, had previously made comments that if Logan CC were to be moved, Lincoln would be losing out on about $61 million of government funding annually. Representative Davidsmeyer shared that he asked the mayor of Crest Hill how he would feel if he were the mayor of Lincoln. According to Davidsmeyer, the mayor of Crest Hill tiptoed around the question.

Logan County Board Member Dale Nelson
third from left

Dale Nelson of the Logan County Board shared that taxes would have to be raised to continue to operate the county. Some panelists went so far as to say that moving Logan CC would kill the town.

Shannon Kelly addressed Governor Pritzker directly (though Pritzker was not in attendance), stating, “if you move forward with this plan, you will be the assassin that kills Lincoln, Illinois.”

Once final arguments had been made, the hearing was brought to a close and everyone was dismissed.

A vote was set to be held Friday, June 14th at 11 a.m. regarding moving forward with IDOC’s plan or not. Only three members of CoGFA were present for the vote, so a quorum was not achieved, and no vote could be taken.

Shortly after the notice that the vote was not taken Senator Sally Turner and Representative Bill Hauter made a joint statement expressing their disappointment in the outcome of the day.

That statement is also published in today’s (Saturday, June 15th) edition of Lincoln Daily News.

[Matt Boutcher]