State prisons near capacity
By Edith Brady-Lunny
Posted: Saturday, July 2, 2011 7:00 am
SPRINGFIELD — The state’s prison population continues to grow and is nearing the 50,000-inmate capacity the Illinois Department of Corrections considers its maximum for prison facilities.
According to the Department of Corrections, the inmate population Friday stood at 48,942.
The union representing prison guards and other correctional staff is concerned that violence its officers experienced recently will be further fueled by overcrowding at prisons originally designed to hold far fewer inmates.
“The population is high, summer is coming on and it’s getting hot. We’re seeing an aggravated environment for trouble,” said Eddie Caumiant, regional director for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Last week, a guard at Menard Correctional Center near Chester was injured by an inmate.
The prison system has seen its population grow by more than 4,000 since Gov. Pat Quinn halted in September 2009 the meritorious good time program, which awarded up to 180 days credit for good behavior. A controversial change in the program initiated by a former department director became a political liability for Quinn during a hotly contested governor’s race.
Policy changes that could restore some form of the program have been under consideration by IDOC, but no final decisions have been reached. A prison system spokeswoman said Friday that the agency is closely monitoring the population growth.“This issue is not unique to Illinois. The mission of the DOC is to protect the public from criminal offenders through a system of incarceration and supervision. We will house any inmate sentenced to the DOC and will continue to explore ways to safely and effectively manage our population while maintaining a safe working environment for department employees,” said Stacey Solano, communications manager for the prison system.
Meanwhile, conditions in the state’s prisons are becoming more crowded and potentially dangerous, said Caumiant.
“We’re not yet to the point of putting inmates in gymnasiums and hallways, but we’ve getting close,” said the union official.
As outdoor temperatures rise, so do tensions inside prison walls, said Caumiant. The number of calls AFSCME receives from concerned workers has increased, he said, along with his fears about potential violence.
“We dread the call that an officer has been killed or they’ve lost control of a wing. These are real possibilities with the numbers we’re talking about,” said Caumiant.
Pontiac prison changes
The end to the state’s death penalty has meant a shift in how the former death row is being used at Pontiac Correctional Center.
The death sentences of 15 inmates were commuted in March when Quinn signed legislation ending capital punishment. The ban on the death penalty officially took effect Friday.
The area that once housed death row prisoners now houses former inmates of the “supermax” Tamms Correctional Center. After years of solitary confinement and isolation at Tamms, prisoners must become acclimated again to normal prison life.
Read more:
http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_a791016a-a46b-11e0-acb9-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1Qx3COnLR
ILLINOIS PRISON LOCKDOWN STATUS: 
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