http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/05/18/opinion/131610.txt

Complete study, plan needed before closing prisons

5/18/2008

Bloomington Pantagraph

Pantagraph Editorial Board

We support a moratorium on closing prisons until a comprehensive plan is developed to determine which prisons - if any - should be closed.

The plan must show how it can be done to ensure that Illinois taxpayers save money without compromising their safety or the safety of the people who work in the prisons as well as those serving time.

We would say this even if Pontiac Correctional Center were not targeted for closure by Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

With the state's prisons at 135 percent of capacity, the state should be looking at opening the already-completed, but nearly vacant prison in Thomson without closing Pontiac or another facility.

According to the Illinois Department of Corrections Web site, Pontiac's capacity is 1,068, while its average daily population is 1,660.

Stateville Correctional Center, which was targeted for closure before the governor suddenly shifted his sights to Pontiac, has a rated capacity of 1,506 and an average daily population of 2,773.

The story is similar across the state

Danville, capacity, 896; population, 1,845.

Dwight, capacity, 858; population, 1,039.

Lincoln, capacity, 500; population, 885.

Logan, capacity, 1,050; population, 1,903.

Menard, capacity, 1,933; population, 3,315.

See for yourself by going to www.idoc.state.il.us and clicking on the "facilities" and checking out these and other prisons statewide.

Under the proposal backed by state Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa; Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, and others, current prisons would be studied by a Corrections Facilities Panel made up of four lawmakers, two correctional facility employees, two representatives of outside organizations knowledgeable about prisons and the director of the Department of Corrections. The panel's recommendations would be due by Sept. 1, 2009.

Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson has signed on as a co-sponsor. She needs to take a more vocal role, particularly in getting fellow Democrats on board.

Aides to the governor rejected the idea, claiming it could hurt efforts to cut costs.

However, the estimated $5 million that the governor's office claims could be saved by closing Pontiac, while significant, pales in comparison to the budget as a whole.

Furthermore, we suspect when related costs are factored in such as the economic impact of a prison closure, including unemployment compensation, the "savings" wouldn't be so high, particularly in the short run.

It is better to do this right than to do it fast.