Stateville Correctional Center is pictured in a file photo. (Andrew Campbell / Capitol News Illinois)

Stateville Correctional Center was lauded in the press as a facility that “shatters every tradition of the confinement of criminals” at its inception about 100 years ago.

“Every man will have his own room and his room will be clean and sunlit and will give him a full chance to get rid of the mental kinks that have landed him behind the bars. Bars, incidentally, are something that we will try to get along without as far as possible in the future,” the Illinois superintendent of prisons, John L. Whitman, was quoted as saying at the time.

“Convicts Now Made Comfortable in Illinois,” read a 1925 headline.

Nearly 100 years later, men incarcerated at Stateville in Crest Hill attest to conditions that are anything but comfortable: concrete falling from ceilings, water leaking during rains and stifling heat.

The conditions are so uninhabitable that a federal judge ordered most of the population out by the end of September, putting an out date to the state’s pitch to close — and rebuild — Stateville.

According to the Illinois Department of Corrections, 191 individuals in custody were transferred from Stateville as of Sept. 5, leaving the population at 222.

WTTW News sent a list of questions to men incarcerated at Stateville to hear how they feel about the shuttering of the prison and their thoughts on the state building a new facility.

Below find their unedited responses to our questionnaire.

WTTW News: Most incarcerated people at Stateville are now set to be transferred by Sept. 30. What’s your reaction to the transfer news?

Darrell Fair

On Mar 16th when Gov Pritzker announced the closure and rebuild of Stateville i felt a plethora of emotions. Mainly a deep sense of helplessness from lack of autonomy. Besides the closing announcement, there was very little other information; which translates to alot of unknown. Currently my time and days are structured. I have activities to help me navigate through the course of a day. Which havn't always been the case. It's an anomaly for individuals in custody "sentenced to long-terms" to have such access to such diverse higher learning opportunities. There were zero opportunities for higher education at Stateville when I arrived in 03. The current community here was created by a collective coalition of volunteers, and learning institutions that placed value and worth where theretofore it was absent. So, needless to say, i was apprehensive.

Robert Cloutier

I honestly can't wait to leave Stateville. During my time here I have been fortunate enough to get into Northwestern and earn a Bachelors degree. That said, the conditions here have been steadily going downhill for years. Stateville has had a horrible reputation for years. When I first came to Stateville the story was:

You have nothing coming, but they leave you alone. Now you have nothing coming but you are supposed to be in compliance. Basically, we can't or won't provide you any of your privileges that you would get automatically anywhere else but make sure that inmates follow the rules.

Lonnie Smith

I have mixed emotion about the closing on one hand I am sad to be separated from the academic and Faith community we buildt there, however, being an abolitionist I am excited to see that dilapidated and inhumane prison close. It should have been closed along time ago. The Governor showed great leadership by closing it down.

Anthony Ehlers

Whats my reaction to the transfee news? Im happy on one hand because weve been working on this for years. (Loevy and Loevy)* have been fighting the conditions case in the federal courts for almost 6 years now....but it wasnt until my friend Michael Brodway** died that anyone (at the courts) paid attention. Suddenly Stateville was dangerous, and men shouldnt be housed here...we have been saying this for years...it shouldnt have taken a man dying to condemn this place. We should have been out of here long ago. It just saddens me that Mike is gone, he would have been so happy to hear that they are finally closing this place....this is part of his legacy, its because of him that Stateville is closing...mike should still be alive, and had we not been in Stateville he likely woyld be alive right now. Everyone has blood on their hands, IDOC, and the Federal Courts as well.

*Since 2013, the firm Loevy and Loevy has represented men incarcerated at Stateville in the ongoing class action lawsuit Dobbey v. Wielding, which seeks to improve living conditions for those housed there. It was filed by Lester Dobbey, who was incarcerated at Stateville, over conditions like unsanitary birds and vermin within living units and the inability to retain proper sleep due to 24/7 fluorescent lighting.

**Michael Broadway was incarcerated at Stateville and died in custody in June.

Alonzo McCorkle

Now that I've been reclassified as a medium security individual in custody and approved for transfer.I'm happy to be leaving this Hell-hole of a prison!Here at stateville we have been forced to except the worst level of living conditions,health care and staff conduct of negligence and unprfessionalism than any prison in the state.In order to benefit from the reinstitution of higher education limited art programs and one licensed trade as a Barber.

WTTW News: What are your concerns about your next facility? Or how do you think your next facility will be different or better even?

William Peeples

My concerns are myriad. The culture of the new prison will ,no doubt, be different, as there is a generational gap between younger , short-term offenders, and older, long-term offenders. As a long-term offender of a certain age, I am living with purpose, eager to positively impact those around me, and dedicated to continuous efforts towards self-actualization. Many young, short-term offenders are living for the next high, and just passing time until they can go home. It will be a challenge to navigate this reality, and still remain open and available to the youngmen who'll want my help. What will be different is (Northwestern Prison Education Program) will have our own community separate from the general population.

André Patterson

The only concerns I have about the next facility is potentially running into some racially charged incidents. The facility I'm going to is further south, and the administrative ethnic make-up is the extreme opposite of Stateville's. Other than that, I fully anticipate it to be a better situation. When I went to Sheridan for a week that Stateville shut down due to a water crisis, it felt like a tremendous weight being lifted. It's just a less oppressive environment, whereas Stateville was all about custody and secure.

Raúl Dorado

I expect to experience complete culture- shock at my next facility. We are transitioning from a maximum security facility where we've aged over the decades & where very few people amongst us are successful in securing our release - to a facility with a much younger population who are completely disinterested in the activities that consume lifers; filing appeals in courts & trying our darnest to avoid having our personal belongings permanently stored in the facility's "dead-man room".

WTTW News: What does this transfer mean for access to programming you’ve been able to receive at Stateville?

Alberto Zavala

The programming dynamic will never be the same as Stateville's, simply because there are more options here to choose from. Besides this, we have built a close community here, with P-NAP, DePaul Think-Tank, Theatre 'Y' & other programs. These transfers mean an end to this positive & transformative era.

Darrell Fair

Currently our programming consists of NEIU, Depaul, P-NAP, North Park University, and Theatre-Y. Most enrollment overlap w/multiple institutions. So, accomadations So, trying to find a facilty w/available spacing to accomadate all our programs has been problematic and frustrating. We've built relationships and a really strong sense of community through these programs, which are all jeopardized if programs are broken up and or seperated. Staffing shortages has been a major hurdle for potential facilities willingness to accept our programs. Especially for potential host sites that are in proximity to chicago. So, our programs may be accepted, but due to staffing issues, not ran. Other sites are just too far. There distance would make it unsustainable to facilitate in-person programs. A seven hour commute (round trip) and 3-4 hour programs, would equal an eleven hours, not to mention early departure times and other logistical issues.

WTTW News: Will a transfer make it more difficult for you to maintain contact/visits with your family?

Lonnie Smith

This transfer has made it more difficult for me to see my family and friends that visited me regularly for years. I have no family or friends in downstate Illinois. I requested to be transferred to Danville C.C. at the first announcment of the closer in my hometown. This way I could get visit's from my elderly aunt's that are 75 and 86 years old and can no longer drive long distances on the highway. This move has taken me further away from my faith community that live in Joiliet, Chicago and Evanston. Danville is close enough to them that they still could visit me too. Since I am in the twilight of my incarceration this support means the world to me and has been so helpful to my reentry plans.

Abdul Malik Muhammad

Unfortunately, most prisoners like myself, who has been incarcerated for over two decades doesnt get visit's,we come from low income communities, that consist of a high unemployement rate, under resource schools that suffered from a high drop out rate and our families on the outside, suffer from poor health, so, eventually everyone dies while you are imprisoned or get sick and unable to travel. For those who have relatives that is healthy enough to travel, being close to home, is a blessing in disguise!

Raúl Dorado

Yes, a.....transfer further down south will inevitably make it much harder for our loved one's to continue the same level of support to us. Moreover, there's an additional dynamic that most people on the outside would hardly consider: How about our friendships with one another? Many of us have been incarcerated together for over 20 & 30 years & now we're all being shipped to different facilities where we'll never see each other again. How far removed from our humanity are the public & prison officials to fail to consider that we are being traumatized by forced seperation from one another & are silenced even as we mourn one another's absence. This is an erasure of our humanity & a devaluation of our lives that honestly has made an emotional wreck out of me.

André Patterson

When I broke the news to my Queen there were long stretches of silence covering our 20 minute call. You can imagine the unexpressed emotions swirling within that silence. She has been my main support system for 24 years, and the administration knew it. Several years ago a counselor approached me and called me "Mr. 405"; it represented the number of times that my partner had come to visit me up to that point in my bit. They paid attention to this number because it was the most visits by anybody in that timespan, so maybe it was a security thing, I don't know. But, can you imagine cultivating a relationship over 24 years under already unnatural circumstances, and now the nexus of that cultivation is ruptured. It is 5 hours to Big Muddy from the city.

WTTW News: What are your thoughts on the state’s plans to rebuild Stateville (along with Logan)? Do you think you’ll see the new facility later when it’s rebuilt?

William Peeples

Unlike some of my counter-parts, I am sympathetic to the many Staff members who will be negatively impacted by this closure, and if the state does not rebuild it will prove problematic for them and their families. On a human level I cannot not be empathetic to those people, irrespective of how many of them have mistreated Incarcerated humans, and our loved ones. However, it is time to scale back on mass - incarceration! We as a society will NOT solve our social problems by locking damaged humans up, and ware-housing them indefinitely. We can't continue to incarcerate our troubled youth, giving them De facto life sentences, when we are all too aware of the socio-economic factors that drive them to drugs, violence and crime in the first place! I ,humbly ,suggest that we follow Germany and other right-thinking progressive nations that employ the Quarantine method of Incarceration, healing broken humans and making them fit for useful citizenship. It is time to bring parole back, to end Truth in Sentencing, and thus decrease the surpluss population of imprisoned humanbeings. Lastly, no, i hope to be home far before they rebuild Stateville Plantation.

Robert Cloutier

I don't agree with spending all those millions of dollars for a Stateville 2.0 . You have done a show about how much bedspace is open in these prisons. Take half of that money and put it in schools that don't get funded. Put it into preventive measures to keep kids from coming to jail. In Chicago there are schools that do not get 3k for a student. The state will pay 30k to lock someone up. Priorities are backward.

André Patterson

I feel an icy ball of dread in my stomach to even think about coming BACK to Stateville post rebuild.

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