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Savanna leaders back both prisons

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By Steven Martens | Monday, August 25, 2008 |

SAVANNA, Ill. — Savanna Mayor Bill Lease has seen his community suffer through hard economic times.

Even through moving more inmates — and prison jobs — to the nearby Thomson Correctional Center would be a much-needed economic boost to the region, Lease says he doesn’t want it to come at the expense of the people of Pontiac in downstate Illinois.

The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability is considering a proposal from Gov. Rod Blagojevich to close the 137-year-old prison in Pontiac and move about half of the 1,650 inmates to the prison in Thomson, which has been mostly unused since being completed in 2001 at a cost of $140 million.

Lease said with the Illinois Department of Corrections operating at 130 percent of prison capacity, it doesn’t make sense to close any prisons.

“They need to open ours and keep the other ones open,” he said.

Lease said if any prisons are to be closed, a better choice would be the Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, a larger community that would be better equipped to handle the loss of jobs from closing the prison.

Department of Corrections spokesman Derek Schnapp said the commission is expected to make a recommendation about the issue next month.

The commission held a public hearing on the issue in Pontiac last week, and more than 1,000 people attended, including Lease.

Tom Kocal, a board member for the Carroll County Economic Development Corp., said he and others in the local economic development community agree with Lease that although the community needs the jobs, it shouldn’t come at the expense of another community.

“It shouldn’t be a battle between these two communities,” he said.

Kocal, who also serves as chairman of the Carroll County Prison Focus Group, said opening the Thomson prison while keeping other Illinois prisons open would create a safer work environment for corrections employees because it would reduce the ratio of inmates to guards.

Kocal said it’s unfortunate that the issue has become political.

“If you could get beyond the politics, things would probably be going a lot smoother,” he said.

Steven Martens can be contacted at (563) 659-2595 or smartens@qctimes.com.

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