IL GOP senators call for DOC leader’s removal over safety issues
[May 16, 2025]
By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Republican state senators are calling for the
removal of the acting director of the Illinois Department of
Corrections.
The Illinois Senate Executive Appointments Committee met Thursday and
advanced the appointment of DOC Acting Director Latoya Hughes to the
full Senate by a vote of 4-2.
State Sen. Jason Plummer, R-Edwardsville, asked Hughes if the department
had implemented mail scanning to keep staff and inmates from being
harmed by incoming synthetic drugs.
“One, we’re in conversations with our union partners related
specifically to your question, related to mail and mail scanning. We are
working with them on a comprehensive approach,” Hughes said.
Hughes could not answer a question about the number of inmate deaths at
DOC facilities this year. She said there were seven deaths due to drug
overdoses or exposures at DOC facilities in 2024.
At a news conference later in the day, Plummer said Hughes was never
qualified to hold the job.
“This isn’t just a Latoya Hughes problem. I want to be clear about that.
This is a J.B. Pritzker management failure. It’s another Gov. Pritzker
management failure,” Plummer said.
State Sen. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, joined Plummer at the news
conference and said mail continues to be a gateway for dangerous
contraband. She also cited recent deaths at Pinckneyville Correctional
Center in Pinckneyville and Hill Correctional Center in Galesburg.
Plummer said lockdowns have not been taking place as they did
previously. He said corrections workers are in danger because of failed
leadership.
“It’s only time before something tragic happens. Staff assaults are
through the roof. We’re just lucky someone hasn’t died. The governor
needs to change course real fast or it’s gonna happen. I don’t know how
much more of a red light we can shoot off than this,” Plummer said.
During the Senate Executive Appointments Committee meeting, Plummer told
Hughes he had due process concerns about facilities that have been
closed for several years, while inmates from those facilities moved
north.
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“If there is a time that the department determines that we are not
going to reopen those facilities or those locations, then we would
indeed engage in that process to ensure that we are complying with
the law, but we continue to talk to our union partners, so there’s
been no permanent determination made at this time,” Hughes
responded.
The acting director repeated several times during the hearing that
the department was in conversations with union partners.
State Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, expressed concerns about
inmates who committed violent crimes being released before they
should be released. Hughes said she would get back to McClure with
information about specific cases.
Plummer was asked where his Democratic colleagues stood on the issue
of Pritzker’s nomination of Hughes as DOC director.
“I believe the reason why Director Hughes is an acting director and
is not a confirmed director is, one, they’re concerned about taking
her nomination to the floor because I think some of our Democratic
colleagues object to it,” Plummer said.
Plummer reflected on issues with Pritzker appointments to the
Illinois Prisoner Review Board.
“I think the other thing to bear in mind, just like with the
Prisoner Review Board, once those people were confirmed, they had
their salary. They had their job, and they were kind of away from
the governor’s office. By keeping them in these acting positions
where he controls whether or not they stay in that position, my
question would be, who does the director work for? Does she work for
the people of the Illinois and does she work for the staff at the
facilities? Or is she working for the governor and his political
priorities?” Plummer continued.
How long Hughes has been acting director is telling, Plummer said.
“I think the fact that she’s been the acting director for as long as
she has been and they’re not moving her to the floor says a lot
about what the Democrats really think about this nomination,”
Plummer concluded.
Hughes makes $220,500 a year. |
