Governor JB Pritzker has floated the idea that about a billion dollars is needed to rebuild and replace two prisons. One in suburban Will County and another in Logan County.
There has been worry that the woman’s correctional facility in Logan County would be torn down but not rebuilt in the same area and now a recent IDOC report says it prefers the woman’s prison to be moved to Crest Hill and built next to a new Statesville Correctional facility.
Governor JB Pritzker says a long process still needs to play out before any prison closes and jobs and prisoners are moved from one part of the state to another.
“There will be hearings as you know, this is part of the process. But you have to understand that we have to make changes, this has to happen. Changes have to take place because these pri9sons have not been upgraded or renovated in many, many years. Many of them are very old. In particular, we are talking about Statesville and Logan so I think this is the right way to go. We are doing it the right way. We will listen to the community as well as they participate in those hearings.”
Logan currently serves as one of the state’s two prisons for women. Much of its structure dates back 90 years ago.
