Black Voices

As Stateville Prison Nears Closure, Advocates Raise Concerns About Long-Lasting Impacts on Workers and Incarcerated Men


Workers are pushing back on the pending closure of Stateville Correctional Center. 

Employees rallied last week outside the facility in far southwest suburban Crest Hill that is slated to close at the end of the month. The Illinois Department of Corrections has already begun transferring more than 100 men to other facilities. 

Advocates are raising concerns about the location of these facilities and the impact they will have on both those behind the prison’s walls and its employees. 

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Some Stateville employees say the distance between their homes and new employment facilities will be too taxing. AFSCME Local 31, which represents most IDOC workers, is making continued efforts imploring IDOC to work with the group in finding a compromising alternative. 

“We have made it clear from the beginning we support the construction of a new Stateville. Deferred maintenance is a big problem, not just at Stateville but throughout the Department of Corrections,” said Anders Lindall, public affairs director at AFSCME Council 31. “There are thousands of acres of vacant property on Stateville grounds. The new Stateville should be constructed there. The current facility should be maintained in the interim.” 

The IDOC says the need for immediate maintenance costs at the facility sits between $12 million and $30 million. Governor J.B. Pritzker announced plans to close the facility in March. A federal judge ordered the transfer of most people incarcerated in Stateville by the end of this month. 

Judge Andrea R. Wood wrote the court found probable risk to the facility infrastructure which contributes to the expedited transfer process. 

“It was built in 1925. There are decades and decades of deferred maintenance, which has created conditions that are both unsafe and inhumane for everyone,” said Jennifer Vollen-Katz, executive director of the John Howard Association of Illinois. 

The association has been documenting the conditions at Stateville for years, with each report noting the unsafe atmosphere. The most recent report by the Atlanta-based CGL Companies, hired by IDOC, outlined similar observations that led to the closing of the correctional center. 

While in favor of the closure, Vollen-Katz is not sure if rebuilding a new facility is the answer. 

“I think more than closing two prisons and rebuilding two prisons, Illinois should be permanently closing several prisons …,” said Vollen-Katz. “I think the CGL report lays out a pretty clear roadmap for what facilities should be shut down, which ones are beyond addressing deferred maintenance … We should think about how we can fulfill the mission of restoring to useful citizenry before we rebuild or create anything new.”

Stateville is one of the few correctional facilities that offers higher education and professional development programs for incarcerated individuals. These programs have been helpful in lowering some individuals’ sentencing but also preparing them to assimilate back into society. 

The facility closures threaten to remove some individuals from these programs based on placement transfers. 

“The closest institution that’s been offered to us for relocation is Hills/Galesburg Correctional Center, and that’s about three hours away,” said Christina Rivers, director of DePaul University's Institute for Restorative Educational Engagement. “So we are concerned about what that’s going to do for our ability to recruit students for the Inside Out program.”

Rivers teaches DePaul’s Inside-Out Prison exchange program at Stateville and runs a law and policy think tank that collaborated with local voting and civil rights organizations to write the “Re-Entering Citizens Civics Education Act.”

Due to the long commute, Rivers will not be teaching the Inside Out program this year and focus her efforts on getting the think tank up and running again. Some of the participants for the program have already been transferred to other facilities nowhere near Hills/Galesburg Correctional Center. 

“A couple were by request. Some of the participants whom we’ve lost were involved in other programs that they prioritized,” Rivers said. “But there are several participants that have been moved to different facilities that are quite far away, and we’re disheartened to see that happen, and we’re hoping to find some way to get those students transferred to Hill.”

Lindall expressed the loss of educational programming as a concern for AFSCME along with several other issues. 

“Hundreds of individuals that are being transferred and relocated now, not only losing their own access to family, to educational opportunities and more, but also are going into facilities that may not be safely equipped to receive them, facilities that may be hundreds of miles away, facilities that may be severely short of staff already,” said Lindall. 

Close to 1,000 vacancies are available at other facilities including Joliet Treatment Center with 268 vacancies, Pontiac Correctional Center with 506 vacancies and Sheridan Correctional Center with 169 vacancies, according to officials. 

“The department has claimed that there will be enough vacancies for employees to take but we have not seen that specific information,” said Lindall. “They have made claims without providing evidence, which seems to be their approach on every aspect of this.”

The state has not come out with a proposal for the rebuild for the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability to review and give a recommendation on. 

As the transfers continue, AFSCME Local Council 31 continues their legal efforts to become a party to the federal court case. The next hearing is set for Sept. 11, 2024. They will also be meeting with the department to ensure “they uphold their obligation to bargain over the impact of layoffs at Stateville.”


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