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Family members said 51-year-old Michael Broadway, who recently
earned a college degree while incarcerated, died from asthma,
which was made worse by the conditions in the facility.
Last March, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a $900 million plan to
close and replace Stateville and the Logan Correctional Center
near Lincoln in the next three to five years.
“We’re listening to a lot of stakeholders but imminently we need
to make changes in the correction system and investments that
will keep people safe,” Pritzker said at an unrelated event this
week. “I’m not just talking about the inmates, I’m also talking
about the correctional officers that work at those facilities.”
After several public hearings, during which employees testified,
the Illinois Department of Corrections said that Stateville
would not close before Sept. 13, 2024.
The union representing prison workers opposes the plan as it
calls for Stateville employees to be relocated to a facility
within a 65-mile radius during construction.
During a Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability
hearing, state Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Murrayville, said a tour
of Stateville was eye opening.
“We should continue to operate Stateville while we build,” said
Davidsmeyer. “We should make Stateville a priority, to rebuild
right now, immediately.”
Opened in 1925, Stateville was built to accommodate around 1,500
inmates. The facility was one of three sites in which executions
were carried out by electrocution in Illinois.
Logan Correctional Center is a prison for female and transgender
offenders and opened in January 1978.
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