AFSCME members pack hearings on Stateville & Logan closure plans

August 01, 2024

On June 11 and 13, hundreds of AFSCME members from Locals 1866 at Stateville Correctional Center and 2073 at Logan Correctional Center made their voices heard at two Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) community hearings on the state Department of Corrections' proposed closures of those facilities.

At both hearings, Council 31 Deputy Director Mike Newman laid out a sweeping and compelling critique of the IDOC plan, making clear that there is no sound rationale for the course the department is pursuing.

Many union members also delivered forceful testimony-and dozens more submitted written comments-strongly urging the commission to reject IDOC's plans, which would close Stateville immediately while the facility is rebuilt, and close Logan in three to five years after a new facility is completed more than 100 miles away in Will County.

Stateville employees fight back

Surveying the hotel ballroom where the COGFA hearing on the proposed closure of Stateville was being held, lawmakers could scarcely see anything but AFSCME green.

Hundreds of Stateville employees, joined by members of nearby AFSCME locals, packed the room. One after another, frontline Stateville staff came forward to deliver testimony that exposed serious factual and logistical flaws in IDOC's plans to close and rebuild Stateville.

They laid bare what it would mean for incarcerated individuals to lose Stateville's second-to-none educational programming. Lt. Matthew Zemantis, who works in the education building, said the popularity of Stateville's programming has even led to a wait list of individuals seeking to transfer to the facility for the purpose of enrolling in those programs.

One question that the department was unable or unwilling to answer is why it insists on shutting down the prison in order to rebuild when there is so much empty land on its campus. Local 1866 Vice President Charles Mathis summed up how that lack of concern for Stateville workers is impacting their lives and families.

"When I hear everything the department has said to the world and to its dedicated employees who report to work every day, about how this so-called temporary closure would work, it's clear that IDOC hasn't thought about how closing Stateville for several years would impact my life, my family's life and the lives of my co-workers," Mathis said.

"Logan does not work without us"

Hundreds of members of AFSCME Local 2073, their supporters in the community and other nearby AFSCME members marched together through the streets of Lincoln to the community hearing on the proposed closure and relocation of Logan CC to northern Illinois.

Their chant echoed down Lincoln's main thoroughfare:

"What do we want?"

"Logan CC!"

"Where do we want it?"

"In Logan County!"

One key flaw in IDOC's plans is that moving the facility from its central location would seriously disrupt the lives of individuals in custody and their families. Logan is the only women's receiving and classification facility in the state, meaning that every female who is sentenced must come to Logan for intake processing.

In the past two years, only 35% of Logan's intake has come from the Chicagoland area. Moving the reception center north would mean longer transport times for writs for the majority of individuals in custody and their loved ones.

Because of its unique mission of housing offenders from minimum to maximum classifications, Logan's staff must wear many different hats on any given day. Logan houses some of the most severely mentally ill individuals in the state, requiring highly specialized treatment.

The facility's diverse mission and population leads to a staff that is simply "the best at what we do," said Local 2073 President Kenny Johnson. In other words, they are irreplaceable.

No vote takenby COGFA

COGFA had planned to make a formal recommendation on the IDOC closure plans at a special meeting on June 14. While the commission did not have the quorum necessary to make an official recommendation at that time, the COGFA members who had attended the community hearings expressed a number of serious questions and concerns with the plan, with opposition reaching across party lines.

Sen. Dave Koehler, COGFA co-chair, said at the hearing that Stateville should remain open while a new facility is built nearby, and urged IDOC to better engage with employees, their families, those incarcerated at the prison and the local community.

Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, another COGFA co-chair, said that the repercussions for the city of Lincoln could be dire if Logan is allowed to be shuttered, and said the process could push employees to quit their jobs.

In response to the lack of a quorum at the meeting, Council 31 issued the following statement:

"Members of the commission have spent two months studying this proposal, asking questions and getting input. Today, all lawmakers present expressed grave concern about the dearth of details provided and the lack of any real plan. The absence of other commission members also reflects the absence of support for the proposal. No member of the commission spoke in favor.

"Today's outcome, and the large crowds and countless concerns raised at this week's COGFA hearings in Joliet and Lincoln, all affirm the same thing: The Department of Corrections should rescind its closure threats, slow down, and work with our union and other concerned parties to develop a better rebuilding plan. For the state prison system, its employees, individuals in custody and their families, that's the right thing to do."

The COGFA process is only the beginning. To prevent disruption and increased danger throughout the correctional system, the union's fight will go on to keep Stateville and Logan correctional centers open while new facilities are built in the current location.

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