By AP
Chester, IL – A Chicago-based prison watchdog group says a maximum-security prison in southern Illinois is getting increasingly dangerous.
A report by the John Howard Association says the Menard Correctional Center in Chester has too many inmates and too few guards. That makes for the state's worst inmate-to-staff ratio of all Illinois maximum-security lockups.
The group says there have been 14 staff assaults since January 1st at Menard.
The 133-year-old prison is designed to hold less than 3,100 prisoners, but it has 3,621. Its population of more than 2,000 convicted killers is more than any other Illinois prison.
The Illinois Department of Corrections disputed the report, saying the size of Menard's inmate population must be taken into consideration when comparing it with other prisons.
Meanwhile, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn says he's willing to consider re-allocating money to avoid a prison closing.
Seven state facilities including the Logan Correctional Center might close because of a lack of state funds.
But Quinn says the money to keep the prison open must come from re-allocation, and that he won't borrow cash.
"The bottom line is we can't just sit here and hope for the best. The fiscal year is a quarter over now and we have to make the economies necessary to get through the fiscal year."
Quinn's threats have sparked fears of over-crowding in other prisons.
All told, closing the proposed facilities would cut 2,000 state jobs.
The proposed closures include the Illinois Youth Center at Murphysboro and the Chester Mental Health Center.
