"Planning was the key to making the transition the success that it was," said Lincoln Correctional Center’s Warden Augustus Scott Jr.

"Our staff put one population to bed, and the next day they woke up to a totally new population. This was something that had never been done before in the state of Illinois. We did everything we had to do to ensure the continuous operation of the facility from one day to the next," he continued.

"I was pleased with the professionalism of my staff. I believe Lincoln was partly chosen due to the availability of space, the stability of its staff and the professionalism the staff has shown in handling many of the department’s other initiatives. They did extremely well with the transition," he added.

Scott also credited IDOC’s Director Donnie Synder’s dedication to this project for the smooth transition. "He ensured adequate training for his staff. This reflects the director’s commitment to the program. The director’s ideal is to cluster all of the female institutions in the central Illinois area, from intake, to programming to parole. Lincoln is a direct link to Chicago and to the other female institutions in the state like Decatur, Dwight and Kankakee. Lincoln has now been added as a link to that chain and, in the future, Hopkins Park."

Jerry Sternes, warden at Dixon Correctional Center in Dixon, said, "This initiative allows us to provide more programming options to the inmates. Isolating the two populations gives us an opportunity to provide better, more in-depth and comprehensive programming. This way we can develop our resources.

"The inmates see the move as a positive one. As for the staff, they know that it is much easier to supervise one population," Sternes added.

Inmates perform most of the manual tasks that are needed to keep the correctional center physically operational. Both wardens agreed that the women have an opportunity to learn some real skills because they will be responsible for doing all of the jobs necessary for helping to run the institution.

Warden Scott explained that even in corrections, women have different issues than men.

He said, "When a male goes to prison there is usually a female left behind to take care of his children. When women go prison, more often than not, there is no one left behind to care for her children. Therefore there are issues of foster care, guardianship and possibly adoption that must be addressed while women are incarcerated. As a result, advocacy services had to be increased."

Other changes were those made in the visiting room to make it more child-friendly. The facility has seen an increase in volunteer services, since more women attend religious services than men. The staff has had to plan activities that women are interested in, since their statistics showed that women are less physically active than their male counterparts. They had to be more creative with activities that were geared toward women.

As a result of the transition, the Lincoln Correctional Center’s Work Camp in Springfield was reassigned to Logan Correctional Center so that it could continue to serve a male population.

[Kym C. Ammons-Scott]

Alsbach said that by the first week in March his firm would be able to give the city an "accurate guaranteed price" for the upgrade. The cost has been estimated at about $9 million, to be financed by a loan from the Illinois State Revolving Loan Fund. The loan will be repaid over a period of 20 years by revenue from the sewer plant.

The plant upgrade is necessary to keep the city in compliance with Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) recommendations, Alsbach said. The plant was built in the 1930s and has not had a major renovation since 1972.

At this time, the treatment plant has a waste load coming in that is "considerably higher than the plant was designed to handle," Alsbach said, although so far it is remaining in compliance with discharge limits. For example, one measure of capacity, the three-month low flow, came in at 81.88 percent of load in 1999 and even higher in 2000, he said. According to the IEPA, if the load for the three low-flow months is greater than 80 percent of design capacity, additional sewer permits could be restricted.

Although at present the treatment plant is in compliance, there is no excess capacity, Alsbach said, and if a problem did come up, it could result in a violation. A violation could mean the IEPA would say the plant cannot add any additional sewers, and growth in Lincoln would be limited.

With the upgrade, the capacity of the plant will be increased from 3.35 million gallons per day to 4.3 million gallons, according to Grant Eaton, plant manager. This will allow the plant to operate for another 20 years, based on a growth in population of one-half percent per year, he said. As much of the old plant as possible will be utilized in the upgrade.

The plant upgrade has been in the works since last May, when the city submitted preliminary plans to the IEPA. Plans were resubmitted in November after corrections were made to account for the higher prison load, which is a little under 500,000 gallons per day.

If the city agrees to the guaranteed maximum price, the final design of the plant will be completed in May and submitted to the IEPA. Eaton said he hopes to be able to go out for bids early this fall and get started on construction yet this year. The actual construction will take about a year to18 months to complete, he said.

In other business, the council approved a request for repair of a brick sidewalk at 229 Peoria St., with the stipulation that the repaired area would be concrete, not brick. They also approved the petition for a handicapped parking space on the west side of 200 N. Chicago St. for Lincoln Medical Equipment. A petition for installation of curb and gutter on the north side of Second Street between South State and Jackson was tabled until the next meeting, pending further investigation.

A resolution was approved honoring Captain Roger Adams, who is retiring after serving 25 years with the Lincoln Fire Department.

[Joan Crabb]

NASA begins its 2001 science odyssey with the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis, now scheduled for liftoff at 6:11 p.m. EST, Feb. 7. The STS-98 mission will carry the first laboratory to the International Space Station. The American-made Destiny Laboratory Module is the cornerstone for space-based research aboard the orbiting platform.

[NASA]

You can watch the launch at this address:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/
shuttle/sts-98/html/fd1.html

You can learn more about the mission here:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/

Each year Imago Dei, the student pro-life group at LCCS, sponsors student, faculty and staff participation in the March for Life. Since 1989, the group has carried the March for Life flags near the head of the march. This year an estimated 150,000 pro-life supporters from every state and many faith-based and non-faith-based groups attended the march.

Imago Dei was begun by LCCS alumnus and former congressman Bill Redmond while he was a student at LCCS.

For the past 12 years, Bob Rea, professor of church history at Lincoln Christian Seminary, has led the group in the Washington, D.C. march. He explains that the March for Life is a "legal and peaceful opportunity for concerned Americans to ask our nation's leaders to stop the legalized termination of innocent human beings."

He adds, "Being opposed to abortion is a by-product of our real concern — saving the lives of mothers and babies. What we want is to stop the deaths of mothers and babies, because we believe both mothers and babies are equally valuable and should be equally protected."

March for Life is a "non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian organization, which seeks to assure that our laws protect the right to life of each human being."

For more information, log onto www.marchforlife.org/. 

The letter read:

"On behalf of the Mayor, the members of the Lincoln City Council, the members of the Lincoln Fire Department and the people of Lincoln, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the following organizations and individuals that provided us with assistance on January 16 and 17 at the fire at the Scully Building:

"The Lincoln Rural Fire Protection District for their aid at the scene of the fire; the Atlanta Fire Department for providing an engine and personnel at our station to ensure the rest of the city had fire protection while we were at the scene of the Scully Building; the Lincoln Police Department, Logan County Sheriff’s Department, officers and dispatchers who worked throughout the night and into the morning ensuring the safety of bystanders, handling traffic and answering our radio requests; the Lincoln Street Department for providing sand for the icy streets caused by the water runoff and barricades to reroute traffic safely from the area; the Logan County Paramedic Association for providing paramedics and ambulance service at the scene to treat injuries and provide a rehabilitation area for firefighters; the local Emergency Services and Disaster Agency and Red Cross for food and drinks that they provided; Cilco and Illinois American Water Companies who had crews and representatives at the scene to provide services as needed; Jim Oliver, an investigator with the Illinois State Fire Marshall who has worked with us in the past and has provided invaluable assistance on this fire; Sorrento’s Pizza for providing us with food and drinks the night of the fire; Randy Heinzel of Heinzel Trucking for his help in maintaining the vehicles at the scene of the fire; Skip Baker from Farm Services for providing fuel for the vehicles at the scene of the fire.

"For a number of days after the fire I was made aware from various people of the number of prayer groups who, aware of the fire that night, had called each other or who had gathered to pray for the safety of the firefighters. Standing here representing all the fire fighters involved that evening, I can only say thank you, though a simple thank you seems inadequate for the care and kindness you have shown us.

"I apologize if I have failed to remember and recognize anyone. I know that everyone who helped us that evening, whether an organization or an individual, did so not because they sought recognition, but because of their sincere desire to help when help is needed."

Chief Ebelherr then presented a letter of recognition honoring the C shift who responded to the fire, made sure all residents of the apartments on the upper floors were out of the building, and then remained in the building fighting the fire until the fire went through the roof and it was no longer safe for them to be inside.

Asst. Ch. Don Fulk	Lt. Bob Dunovsky	Jason Van Winkle
Jake Lessen	Chris Harding	Kendall Fitzpatrick
[These firefighters laid their lives on the line going inside the building to check for tenants and then fighting the fire from the inside for a time.]

Those named were Assistant Chief Don Fulk, Lt. Bob Dunovsky, and firemen Jason Van Winkle, Jake Lessen, Chris Harding and Kendall Fitzpatrick.

Shaner spoke at a domestic violence seminar sponsored by the Domestic Abuse and Violence Task Force of the Healthy Communities Partnership of Logan County.  The seminar at the Lincoln Park District on Thursday, Feb. 1, drew about 30 people.

Group counseling and court advocacy are the first services Sojourn plans to offer in Lincoln, Shaner said.  In addition, volunteers are being sought to take victims to a safe place.

Sojourn services are available to Logan County residents through the Springfield headquarters.  Collect calls to (217) 726-5200 are always accepted.  Confidential services include a shelter program, children’s program, court advocacy, Sojourn Advocate For Emergency Response (SAFER), medical advocacy, prevention and education, a volunteer program, and non-residential services to clients in Logan, Sangamon, Menard, Christian and Montgomery counties.

Shaner said that how victims feel treated at the scene of the crime is the most important factor in whether they pursue charges.  The SAFER program provides an on-call advocate who goes to a scene of domestic battery once it is secured by police and counsels victims including children.  Although this service is not available in Lincoln, Chief of Police Rich Ludolph said officers do explain Sojourn services and encourage victims to call immediately.  Because many do not have transportation available, he emphasized the need for volunteers to offer rides.

To counteract teen violence, Shaner encouraged classroom programs connecting teens to role models of the same sex.  She said it is important to start young in teaching empathy, respect and self-esteem.  Ludolph described the programs offered by the Lincoln Police Department: Violence Prevention for Our Youth taught by Officer Rich Montcalm in kindergarten through fourth grade, Violence Education and Gang Awareness (VEGA) taught by Sergeant Darrell Sisk in fifth grade, and Drug Awareness Resistance Education (DARE) led by Sisk, Montcalm or Sergeant Mike Geriets for sixth and seventh graders and high school freshmen. 

He said these and the YMCA after-school program have reduced juvenile crime occurring between 3 and 5 p.m.  The police programs are funded by a three-year grant, and Ludolph said that if he can find additional funding he wants to offer a violence prevention program for home-schooled children as well.  Shaner said Lincoln is ahead of many communities in youth education.

She defined domestic violence as “a pattern of coercive behavior used to gain control over another person.”  Occurrences include forms of physical, emotional and financial control and tend to increase in frequency and severity.  Most abusers are male, and 95-97 percent of victims are female.

 “Abusers have a public and a private face,” making the crime nearly invisible, said Shaner.  Domestic violence is the most common violent crime in the United States, occurring in one out of every four homes and in every type of neighborhood.

In working with victims of domestic violence, Shaner told her audience of social service workers and others, “you must redefine success” to include building trust and imparting information, rather than just getting the victim to leave the abusive situation.  The Sojourn philosophy emphasizes victim self-determination, and the victim chooses whether to leave.

In the past two years the address of the Springfield shelter, 1800 Westchester Blvd., has been publicized.  Shaner said, however, that if organizers are ever successful in opening a shelter in Lincoln, its location should be kept secret for safety reasons.

During the last fiscal year the average stay at the Springfield shelter was 33 nights.  Saner said there is no specified limit, but clients must experience a level of risk and must be working on specific goals. It takes an average of eight stays in the shelter before a victim is ready to leave the abusive situation permanently.

She said victims stay in abusive relationships for many reasons, including not wanting to admit a failed relationship, not wanting to be alone, being willing to sacrifice self so children are clothed and fed, and having no other model for relationships.  It is a myth that victims are a specific type of person, she added; the similarities come after the abuse when threats, intimidation, isolation and economic control have lowered victims’ self-esteem to the point that they feel guilty and worthless.

Shaner, who spent two years with Sojourn’s children’s program, said working with the young is both tough and hopeful: tough because the children think they are guilty, and hopeful because of the chance to break the cycle of violence.  Noting that 81 percent of male abusers saw their mothers being abused, she said, “We work hard not to let the boys in the shelter think they have no chance.”  Children are taught that their only job is to seek safety, because most child victims are injured while protecting their mother.

[Lynn Spellman]