A southern Illinois lawmaker says the recent attack on prison guards at Pontiac Correctional Center serves to highlight the short-sighted decision to close a prison in Alexander County.
Tamms Correctional Center, a "supermax" prison that housed Illinois' most dangerous criminals, closed its doors in 2013 as a casualty of then-Governor Pat Quinn's budget. State Senator Gary Forby of Benton is urging current Governor Bruce Rauner to consider re-opening the facility.
Forby says the attack on six corrections officers at Pontiac could have been avoided if the Tamms Supermax Prison was still open.
Tamms was built in the 1990's under then-Gov. Jim Edgar.