Staff are ‘securing jobs’ at Decatur prison ahead of expected Logan prison closure

[September 03, 2024]  By Catrina Petersen | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Illinois state Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, confirmed employees from the Logan County Correctional Center have started to transfer to Decatur.

"They’re trying to get ahead of this closure. They [Decatur] are seeing folks from the Lincoln facility coming to Decatur to fill job openings,” said Caulkins.

The Illinois Department of Corrections said they are not currently under a hiring freeze at either the Stateville prison or Logan County Correctional. Stateville prisoners must transfer due to a recent court ruling. The department said they’re discussing with labor partners the impact of that order on IDOC employees.

Earlier this summer during a Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability hearing at Lincoln Junior High School, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 Deputy Director Mike Newman said the IDOC has given little consideration to announcing the closure and move of the Logan County facility years in advance.

"How are operations and staffing going to continue normally going forward? There are already difficulties in the department’s ability to staff Logan. It will be extremely difficult to retain current staff and bring new staff to Logan going forward,” said Newman. “With the threat of closure and layoffs looming, Logan staff will begin actively looking for vacancies at nearby facilities. This has already started. When staffing is destabilized, the safety and security of both staff and the women housed at the Logan facility are put at risk.”

Caulkins fears, ahead of two expected prison closures, that the department will change the standards female inmates must meet in order to transfer to the Decatur prison from the Logan prison.

The Logan County Correctional Center is an intake prison where inmates are screened and then transferred to facilities around the state, Caulkins said. A female inmate has to meet certain standards in order to be transferred to the dormitory-style Decatur prison.

“What I think we need to be watchful of is: Does the IDOC change their criteria? In other words, are they going to change their standards for what kind of incarceration a person is suited for? Are we going to see the department ease standards where we end up with women in Decatur who would have ordinarily not been qualified or suited to be placed there?” said Caulkins.

Stateville and Logan prisons are both slated for closure and $900 million rebuilds despite the 12,000 already vacant prison beds that exist in Illinois. The prison in Decatur is a minimum-security prison whereas Logan County Correction Center is a medium-security prison.

Illinois state Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur
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"The IDOC might say, ‘because we’re trying to decrease the population in Lincoln, we are going to gloss over this female inmate’s issues and declare her suitable for Decatur because we don’t want to put her in Lincoln, where she belongs.’” said Caulkins.

IDOC said in a statement the Decatur Correctional Center is a minimum security female facility.

“The Department has not changed its classification level system utilized to classify individuals in custody according to their security classification and risk level,” the statement said. “Further, there are no plans to depopulate Logan Correctional Center until the rebuild is complete.”

AFSCME union members at the hearing earlier this summer said the closure announcement and plans could exacerbate the problem where unqualified inmates are transferred to the Decatur facility.

“We had our very first escape attempt in 2023. No one ever thought there would be an escape attempt at the Decatur facility, but it happened because they [the department] sent someone there [Decatur] that did not belong at the Decatur Correctional Center,” said Alfred Campbell, a corrections sergeant at the Decatur prison.

AFSCME Local 2073 Vice President Eric McNamara said union members have contractual rights to transfer to any IDOC facility within the state.

"We have two cadets in the academy right now. We are slated to fill 10 more vacancies, hopefully starting within the next few weeks," said McNamara.

He explained Logan regularly transfers inmates to Decatur Correctional Center.

"We’re not shipping extra individuals to prepare for a 'closure,'" said McNamara. "It’s “business as usual within the fences of the Logan facility. But everyone is uncertain of their future, whether it be staff or the individuals in custody."

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