Correctional workers and supporters lined up outside of Stateville Correctional Center on Aug. 29, 2024, to oppose the closure of the prison. (Blair Paddock / WTTW News)

Correctional workers and supporters in green lined up outside of Stateville Correctional Center on Thursday to oppose the closure of the prison.

“We’re asking for no layoffs and no chaos,” said Eugene Washington, the president of AFSCME Local 1866.

Workers are continuing their protest over the state’s plan to close and rebuild Stateville, citing concerns over safety and job stability. AFSCME Council 31 — the union that represents most Illinois Department of Corrections employees — has stated it supports building a new Stateville facility, but does not agree that the current facility must be shut down to construct a new one.

Meanwhile, the state is moving forward with the closure; 103 incarcerated people have been transferred from Stateville to other facilities, according to IDOC.

The union’s plea to keep the prison open is a stark contrast to the feelings of some of those incarcerated at Stateville. Abdul Malik Muhammad wrote to WTTW News earlier this month that the transfers are “life saving news.”

“This is great news for everyone that has experience the horrible conditions here at Stateville,” Muhammad wrote. “This is also live saving news that will prevent another death from happening.”

The transfers come after a federal judge ordered most of the population be moved by the end of September.

Judge Andrea R. Wood wrote that the court found a probable risk of irreparable harm from falling concrete attributed to the deteriorated masonry walls, ceilings, steel beams and window lintels at Stateville.

“There’s no evidence, no evidence of any individual in custody or any employee being injured by this building,” Roberta Lynch, executive director of AFSCME Council 31, said at Thursday’s picket.

On Aug. 19, the union filed a motion to intervene, which said the preliminary injunction infringes on members’ labor rights.

“The transfer of the incarcerated individuals from Stateville to other correctional facilities undermines the power of employees at Stateville to protect their economic welfare and the power of employees at the ‘receiving’ facilities to protect their safety at work,” the motion states.

When asked about the motion, a spokesperson for IDOC said the department cannot comment on pending litigation.

Loevy and Loevy, the law firm representing incarcerated people at Stateville, responded that the motion to intervene is “improper” and the court should deny it.

“It’s the class members’ position that this case has been about the conditions for those people who reside and live at Stateville,” said Heather Lewis Donnell, a partner at Loevy and Loevy. “... Nothing that the union’s presented should hinder or stop the court’s order, that preliminary injunction order, that requires our class members to be transferred out of that unsafe place by the end of September.”

These motions are part of Dobbey v. Weilding, an ongoing class action lawsuit over conditions at Stateville that Loevy and Loevy has been litigating since 2013.

On the inside, men incarcerated have shared stories of severe structural issues at the facility, like concrete falling from ceilings, nailed-shut windows, little ventilation during extreme heat and water leaking during rains.

In June, a man incarcerated at Stateville, Michael Broadway, died in custody during some of the hottest days that month. His autopsy has not yet been released. But men incarcerated at the facility have told WTTW News that conditions at the facility have not changed since his death: little ventilation and heat staying trapped inside.

The proposed closure also includes Logan Correctional Center, which according to the proposal would also be rebuilt on Stateville’s property. The rebuilds could take about five years. The state allocated $900 million for the rebuild of the two prisons in the 2025 budget.

IDOC has previously stated it does not expect that any employee will lose state employment as part of the process. As of March 31, Stateville employed a total of 939 staffers, with 676 security personnel and 263 non-security employees, according to the department.

In June, IDOC said if current staffing patterns hold, the department estimates approximately 1,000 IDOC positions available within a 65-mile radius of Stateville. Officials said most security employees will be absorbed by the Northern Reception and Classification Center on Stateville’s current property.

At that time, the department stated that there were other opportunities at facilities like the Joliet Treatment Center with 268 vacancies, Pontiac Correctional Center with 506 vacancies and Sheridan Correctional Center with 169 vacancies.

IDOC officials said that Stateville employees transferred to other facilities during rebuilding will have first rights to work at the new facility upon reopening.

Capitol News Illinois contributed to this report.

Note: Loevy and Loevy has done legal work for WTTW News.