http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/07/02/news/doc486be8dbec8ba930692354.txt

DOC misses deadline for plan to close Pontiac prison

July 2, 2008

Bloomington Pantagraph

Kurt Erickson

SPRINGFIELD -- The Illinois Department of Corrections missed a deadline Wednesday to outline its plan to close Pontiac Correctional Center.

The agency, which has threatened to close the maximum-security facility and move 1,600 inmates to a new, unused prison in Thomson, asked a legislative panel for a two-week extension to compile the report.

It wasn’t clear Wednesday whether lawmakers would go along with the delay, which the department blamed on the state’s lingering budget impasse.

State Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa, criticized the agency, which must follow certain steps outlined in state law when it wants to close or move state facilities.

“The department knew a month and a half ago what they were required to file,” said Rutherford, who represents the Pontiac region. “Everybody knows what the rules are.”

The request for an extension is the latest twist in Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s attempts to close the prison. After saying he would close the lock-up in May, the agency appeared to reverse course after lawmakers inserted money into the proposed state budget to keep the prison open.

Blagojevich, however, still hasn’t signed the budget, saying it is not balanced. He called on lawmakers Wednesday to return to Springfield July 9 to approve a series of revenue enhancements in order to fund the entire spending plan.

Under state law, the governor and his agencies must follow a step-by-step procedure when attempting to close state facilities.

Wednesday was the deadline for prison officials to file a report outlining the potential savings of the move, as well as the potential economic impact it would have on the surrounding community.

The prison employs about 600 people.

In a letter to lawmakers, Illinois Department of Corrections Director Roger Walker said the agency doesn’t have many details about the state’s budget because Blagojevich has not signed the spending plan into law.

“This leaves the potential closure of Pontiac still as a possibility,” Walker said.

That comment runs counter to a department spokesman’s statement last week that left open the possibility the prison would not be closed.

Rutherford said the threat of the closing, as well as the mixed signals coming from the Department of Corrections, has raised anxiety among prison workers and Pontiac residents to “extreme” levels.