© 2024 WSIU Public Broadcasting
WSIU Public Broadcasting
Member-Supported Public Media from Southern Illinois University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Former Wardens Concerned by Overcrowding

Former Illinois prison wardens have reservations about the state's handling of the inmate population.

The Department of Corrections moved up to 15 maximum-security inmates implicated in a prison fight two weeks ago to secure segregation cells at lower-level prisons. And Corrections said last week it is setting up temporary housing for minimum-security inmates in medium-security prison gymnasiums.

Gerardo Acevedo is a retired prison warden. He says it will be difficult to keep low-level and medium-security inmates separate in infirmaries, work assignments and religious services.

George Welborn says medium-security segregation units are secure. But guards at those prisons aren't used to handling hardcore maximum-level inmates housed there.

Welborn is retired after serving as warden at Tamms. Gov. Pat Quinn closed the high-security penitentiary to save money.

As a WSIU donor, you don’t simply watch or listen to public media programs, you are a partner. By making a gift, you help WSIU produce, purchase, and broadcast programs you care about and enjoy – every day of the year.