Members of Illinois' Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability heard testimony Monday in Ullin on the potential closing of the Tamms Super-max Prison.
State Senator Gary Forby was joined by hundreds of union leaders and supporters as he testified in favor of keeping the state’s only super maximum security prison open. Tamms Supporters carried signs reading “Our Jobs Keep You Safe” Tamms Village President Carol Mitchell says closing the Super Max Prison will devastate the local economy. She says the prison generates about 25-percent of the village's three-and-a-half million dollar budget.
Groups supportive of closing Tamms also testified at the hearing. Tamms Year Ten lead organizer Laurie Jo Reynolds says Illinois fell for a "foolish national trend" in the 1980's and built a "vengeful and wasteful prison" the state didn't need. She says it was doomed from the start. Reynolds says Tamms Year Ten is sympathetic to those who will lose their jobs, but she says real sustainable economic development is needed in southern Illinois, not a Super Max Prison.
Governor Pat Quinn wants to close Tamms to save money in next year's budget. He says the facility is underutilized and its inmates can be safely housed in other maximum security prisons such as Menard Correctional Center in Chester and the Pontiac Correction Center in Northern Illinois. The Governor wants to close Tamms prison by the end of August. Tamms has an annual operating cost of 26-million dollars. The governor also wants to close the Dwight Correctional Center. He says closing both prisons would save the state 48-million dollars annually.
The Commission's recommendations are not binding. An economic impact study suggests closing the prison would have a 33-million dollar negative impact on the region including the loss of more than 300 jobs.
