The state’s largest public employee union is suing to block Gov. Pat Quinn’s plans to shut down several correctional facilities on the grounds that the closures would create unsafe working environments for its members.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 is seeking an injunction against the closure of seven facilities including a super-maximum-security prison near Tamms and a women’s prison in Dwight. “Many of the inmates that will be moved are those who have been intentionally segregated in the correctional system because of the danger they pose to guards and to other inmates,” said AFSCME’s complaint.
“Inmates are being sent to prisons that are too crowded, too short of staff or lacking appropriate security features to safely incarcerate them,” AFSCME Council 31 executive director Henry Bayer said in a prepared statement.
Lawmakers approved a budget that contained money to keep facilities open for the current fiscal year, but Quinn used his veto pen to reject the money and has moved forward with closures. Legislators opposed to the closures have asked Quinn to hold off on shutting down the facilities until they have a chance to act on the governor’s vetoes.
You can read Jamey's full report at: http://illinoisissuesblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/afscme-sues-to-keep-prisons-open.html
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