Two major Illinois prisons and other facilities will stay open for at least another month after an arbitrator ruled Governor Pat Quinn's administration violated workers' rights in rushing to close them.
Arbitrator Steven Bierig concluded Friday that the state departments of Corrections and Juvenile Justice did not properly negotiate with workers over the impact of closing the supermax Tamms prison, the Dwight women's lockup and several juvenile facilities including the Illinois Youth Center in Murphysboro. Bierig ordered the government and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees to continue negotiating and reach an agreement on the closure process and its effects within a month. Governor Quinn wanted to close the prisons and juvenile lockups by Friday. But AFSCME sued and a southern Illinois judge ordered arbitration.
