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Hardin County Buys Shut Down Work Camp From The State For $1

Illinois State Capitol Building
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Illinois State Capitol Building

3 years ago the Hardin County Work Camp was shut down to save IDOC about a million dollars a year.

Friday IDOC sold the facility to Hardin County for $1 as a result of house bill 3274.

The Hardin County Work Camp was forced to shut its doors in 2016.

IDOC transferred the employees and inmates to different facilities.

There were a few attempts to dedicate funds in the state budget to reopen the camp, but were unsuccessful.

“It doesn’t look like there was going to be an option of reopening as a work camp through the department of corrections.”

Then Hardin County had a better idea; they wanted the facility, but it’s under IDOC control.

Senator Dale Fowler was one of the sponsors of HB3274 granting the IDOC the authority to sell the property to Hardin County for $1.

Hardin County plans to convert the property into a detention center and eventually a tri-county detention center.

“It’s going to be a process, it will be a little bit at a time they won’t need the entire campus originally because it will be a work in progress.”

Senator Fowler says once the work is done the detention center will generate an additional 30 to 40 jobs. 

“To be able to go in and create additional jobs, new jobs, is exciting to Hardin County and Southern Illinois.”

Housing inmates from surrounding counties will also recreate additional revenue for the county.  

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