The change comes after debate over the safety of physical mail. IDOC states that these emergency rules are intended to prevent the smuggling of contraband and hazardous substances into correctional facilities.

Correctional workers and Republican lawmakers have said exposure to synthetic cannabinoids in IDOC facilities has led to hospital visits and impacted prisons across the state. One man incarcerated at Hill Correctional Center said moving away from paper mail would have “devastating consequences.”

At issue is concerns over drug exposures tied to physical mail and whether paper should be digitally scanned for incarcerated people. That debate may be over as IDOC signed a contract in October that will give the department the ability to scan physical mail and deliver digital copies, according to the contract obtained by WTTW News through a Freedom of Information Act request.

To gain insight into the impact of prison closures, WTTW News looked back on the last prison the state shut down: Dwight Correctional Center. We spoke to both currently and formerly incarcerated women and correctional workers, as well as researchers and lifelong residents in the surrounding village.

Prisons in Illinois are currently facing a staffing crisis, according to a new report from the John Howard Association. It found understaffing greatly increases the amount of lockdowns and staff overtime and impacts the overall health, safety and well-being of staff and incarcerated people.

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 Correctional Center.

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. 

Workers are continuing their protest over the state’s plan to close and rebuild Stateville Correctional Center, citing concerns over safety and job stability.

Hundreds gathered at hearings this week to voice concerns over Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration’s plans to close and rebuild Logan and Stateville correctional centers. At a Friday meeting, one state lawmaker said, “This is really a concept and not a plan … because a plan has details.”

Hundreds of people gathered Tuesday night to try to sway a vote by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) over Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration’s recommendation to close and rebuild Stateville Correctional Center.

Top officials with the Illinois Department of Corrections testified in front of a key panel of state lawmakers. Gov. J.B. Pritzker previously announced a plan to close Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill and Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln.

An independent report identified Illinois’ Stateville and Logan prisons as outdated and in need of costly repairs.

At Ludeman Developmental Center in Park Forest, 37 employees have been fired, resigned or face pending disciplinary action after a state watchdog found that they defrauded a federal pandemic-era small business loan program.

The governor’s office said the contract is projected to cost an additional $204 million in the first year and $625 million over four years.

The board ordered the city to rehire employees that were terminated after they refused to get the vaccine and awarded back pay – plus interest – to those employees who were disciplined because.

It’s been two months since the U.S. Supreme Court came out with its landmark Janus v. AFSCME decision. Now, on to the next front in the battle over the future of public employee unions.