DOC to Allow Media in Prisons

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn's administration appears to be changing its tune on allowing reporters inside state prisons.

Enlarge image

Credit Google Earth

Vienna Correctional Center

Previous requests had been turned down for what were termed security precautions. But a news release from the Governor's staff Friday says the Department of Corrections is working to schedule media tours of prisons.  The prisons tours will be held starting in November and running into January at the state correctional facilities in Vienna, Vandalia and Pontiac where overcrowding has lead to reports of inmates living in terrible conditions. The Governor's office says the tours will remain at the Corrections Director's discretion and cameras and audio recorders will not be allowed. The policy shift comes after news this week that a group of community college students were allowed to tour the Pontiac prison. The Agency says they were only allowed in administrative areas, not where inmates are held.