Doubts continue as inmates, workers move from Illinois prison slated for replacement

[October 02, 2024]  By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Illinois state senators are expressing concerns about the speedy removal of inmates from Stateville Correctional Center.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said this week that about 24 inmates remain in Stateville’s healthcare facility, but the rest have been transferred from the prison in Crest Hill.

“I’m proud of the Department of Corrections for the speed with which they were able to make the transfers of inmates according to a federal judge’s order,” Pritzker said.

State Sen. Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet, said the Illinois Department of Corrections did not have a solid plan.

“If it’s just a speed thing, that’s not what I consider a successful transition. A successful transition is meeting the needs of a human being, whether they’re the ones incarcerated or the ones who are working there,” Ventura told The Center Square.

Ventura said IDOC missed the mark on improving life quality for people currently incarcerated.

“We could have built the new prison first, moved everyone from Stateville over into that facility, and then built the Logan facility second and moved them over as well,” Ventura suggested.

Ventura expressed concerns that people were being moved to facilities that might not meet the educational or workforce needs of inmates, workers and their families. She said there could have been a better plan had IDOC discussed it with stakeholders and legislators.

“But instead it was glossed over and they’re like, ‘We’re gonna do our best,’ but then, at the end of the day, not having a solid plan created a lot of chaos that was unnecessary in our state,” Ventura said.

A screengrab of Google Street View for Stateville Correctional Center in Lockport, Illinois. Image Capture: Oct. 2022 ©Google 2024

In March, Pritzker announced plans to replace both Stateville and Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln at an estimated cost of $900 million.

Pritzker, citing construction experts, said it will take three to five years to tear down and replace Stateville.

State Sen. Don DeWitte, R-St. Charles, said he still has concerns that Pritzker might decide not to reopen Stateville.

“The updates to the general public as well as to the legislature have been extremely shortcoming. I’m very disappointed that the governor feels he has the ability to do this all in a vacuum,” DeWitte told The Center Square.

In August, a federal judge ordered the state to move inmates out of Stateville by the end of September.

“The fact that a judge ordered this relocation of all these inmates was very convenient political cover for the governor, given that the fact that it was his plan to move everyone out of there and start this whole process of knocking down and then rebuilding the entire Stateville operation,” DeWitte said.

DeWitte noted state government’s inefficiency at the facility.

“I find it incredibly frustrating that apparently all of the security people assigned to Stateville, there are 24 inmates left in that facility, every employee at Stateville is still required to show up for work every single day, and there’s no one there. There are no residents in the facility. That, in my opinion, shows how poorly this administration and the department have planned this transition,” DeWitte said.