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A bi-partisan panel of lawmakers Thursday voted against closing the Jacksonville Developmental Center and the Logan Correctional Center.
However, the vote by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability is advisory only. The ultimate fate of the facilities may hinge on lawmakers reaching agreement on reallocating money in the state budget to keep them open. Gov. Pat Quinn said he had to close the Logan and Jacksonville facilities, along with five others, plus lay off nearly 2,000 state employees because lawmakers did not provide enough money in the budget to keep them open for a full year.
Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago, one of the budget negotiators, said talks continue about a reallocation plan, but he is hopeful an agreement will be reached.
COGFA voted 9-2 to keep the Logan Correctional Center open. Rep. Mike Tryon, R-Crystal Lake, noted that the Department of Corrections had said it would have to house inmates in gymnasiums at other prisons if Logan were closed. The state’s prison system is already severely overcrowded.
“That would be a mistake,” Tryon said. “There is such a need for secure detention that closing the facility doesn’t make sense. I don’t see how you can possibly close Logan.”
“I don’t even know why this is on the list,” added Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, D-Evanston. “The idea that prisoners would be sleeping in gymnasiums defies imagination.”
Lincoln Mayor Keith Snyder said he was encouraged by the vote.
“I am hopeful that this (budget) rebalancing can take effect and Logan can remain open,” Snyder said.
He said the community has already felt an impact from the threatened closure.
“You go around to some of the businesses and they are talking about impacts of 13 to 15 percent,” Snyder said. “In a kind of a strange way, it did bring the community together. While our belts got tightened, there’s a new sense of unity in Lincoln that wasn’t there before.”
COGFA also voted 7-4 against closing the Jacksonville Developmental Center. Rep. Patricia Bellock, R-Hinsdale, agreed the state needs to look at closing some facilities. However, she noted that a Department of Human Services official testified at a COGFA hearing that generally takes year to successfully close a facility. The administration, though, is talking about closing Jacksonville in about four months.
“For 193 people at Jacksonville to move out within 16 weeks without really a good plan in place, I do not feel I can go forward with that,” Bellock said.
A bi-partisan panel of lawmakers Thursday voted against closing the Jacksonville Developmental Center and the Logan Correctional Center.
However, the vote by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability is advisory only. The ultimate fate of the facilities may hinge on lawmakers reaching agreement on reallocating money in the state budget to keep them open. Gov. Pat Quinn said he had to close the Logan and Jacksonville facilities, along with five others, plus lay off nearly 2,000 state employees because lawmakers did not provide enough money in the budget to keep them open for a full year.
Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago, one of the budget negotiators, said talks continue about a reallocation plan, but he is hopeful an agreement will be reached.
COGFA voted 9-2 to keep the Logan Correctional Center open. Rep. Mike Tryon, R-Crystal Lake, noted that the Department of Corrections had said it would have to house inmates in gymnasiums at other prisons if Logan were closed. The state’s prison system is already severely overcrowded.
“That would be a mistake,” Tryon said. “There is such a need for secure detention that closing the facility doesn’t make sense. I don’t see how you can possibly close Logan.”
“I don’t even know why this is on the list,” added Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, D-Evanston. “The idea that prisoners would be sleeping in gymnasiums defies imagination.”
Lincoln Mayor Keith Snyder said he was encouraged by the vote.
“I am hopeful that this (budget) rebalancing can take effect and Logan can remain open,” Snyder said.
He said the community has already felt an impact from the threatened closure.
“You go around to some of the businesses and they are talking about impacts of 13 to 15 percent,” Snyder said. “In a kind of a strange way, it did bring the community together. While our belts got tightened, there’s a new sense of unity in Lincoln that wasn’t there before.”
COGFA also voted 7-4 against closing the Jacksonville Developmental Center. Rep. Patricia Bellock, R-Hinsdale, agreed the state needs to look at closing some facilities. However, she noted that a Department of Human Services official testified at a COGFA hearing that generally takes year to successfully close a facility. The administration, though, is talking about closing Jacksonville in about four months.
“For 193 people at Jacksonville to move out within 16 weeks without really a good plan in place, I do not feel I can go forward with that,” Bellock said.
Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford, said he thinks lawmakers are willing to work with the administration to develop a long-range plan “that is affordable and addresses the needs of residents.”
Schoenberg, though, said the Jacksonville facility needs more than $100 million in maintenance alone. And Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook, said the state’s budget problems are continuing.
“The sooner we staunch some of the bleeding, the easier it will be for us in the long run,” she said.
Rep. Raymond Poe, R-Springfield, voted against closing both Logan and Jacksonville.
Sen. Sam McCann, R-Carlinville, hailed the vote by COGFA.
“Those of us who were working very hard to show the legitimacy of keeping Jacksonville and Logan open, we won today,” McCann said. “We hope the governor hears that message loud and clear.”
McCann said he is open to the idea of working groups looking at the future of state facilities as long as all viewpoints are represented.
“If we want to establish working groups and reach a consensus and come up with a plan, that’s a good thing,” McCann said. “We need to get away from knee-jerk reactions.”
Doug Finke can be reached at 788-1527.
