Illinois

Illinois data shows inmates with violent records from shuttered prison sent to medium-security sites

Published

2 months ago

February 13, 2025

Illinois data shows inmates with violent records from shuttered prison sent to medium-security sites

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Among the approximately 400 inmates transferred when Illinois’ decrepit Stateville prison closed over the summer, 278 were convicted of murder and 100 more are serving time for other violent offenses.

Yet, nearly four in five of the offenders formerly housed at the suburban Chicago lockup were not shipped to top-level maximum-security prisons, where the toughest criminals, troublemakers and escape risks are housed. Instead, they went to mid-level medium-security facilities, according to an Associated Press analysis of Illinois Department of Corrections data.

Prison employees believe housing for the transferred inmates was based on which facilities had bed space and sufficient personnel who are adequately trained in a critically understaffed system.

All transfers properly placed, prison agency says

Corrections spokesperson Naomi Puzzello said all of the transfers from Stateville are appropriately housed and that none was reclassified to a lower security level to match that of the receiving prison. She acknowledged scores of maximum-security beds are vacant but said corrections’ understaffing played no role in the transfers.

However, the AP obtained minutes from a meeting at a separate facility nearly a year before Stateville’s shutdown in which administrators discouraged staff from bumping troublemakers up to a higher risk level because “maximum security beds are in short supply.”

And the AP found that in more than half of the relocations, ex-Stateville inmates were transferred without regard to a corrections guideline that those serving sentences of 30 years or more be housed in max prisons.

Opened in 1925, Stateville was targeted for closure in the spring when Gov. JB Pritzker set aside $900 million to replace it and Logan Correctional Center, the deteriorating women’s facility in central Illinois. A federal judge, accelerating the plan by declaring Stateville uninhabitable and inaccessible, ordered it shuttered by Sept. 30.

Security staff shortages a national problem

Prison staff shortages are a problem nationally. Wisconsin has seen a spate of inmate deaths while it struggles with vacant posts. “Grossly inadequate” staffing was among problems listed last fall in a searing Justice Department critique of violence, drugs and sexual abuse in Georgia prisons.

Data compiled by the nonprofit Safer Prisons, Safer Communities shows that the number of state-employed corrections officers dropped from 237,000 in 2012 to 182,000 in 2023.

Simply put, it’s a tough job, said Wanda Bertram of the Prison Policy Initiative, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and advocacy group that espouses decarceration.

“You’re going to witness violence, you might witness serious mental illness,” Bertram said. “You’re going to be around a lot of drug use and these things have a measurable impact on corrections workers.”

400 job openings, 1,750 open max beds

The Illinois Department of Corrections is 396 frontline security officers short of what was budgeted, according to October department staffing numbers. Total current officers are more than 2,800 shy of the authorized headcount, or the number needed to operate without substantial overtime.

Under the Illinois public records law, AP obtained a list of 406 inmates housed at Stateville as of August 2024 and matched each with the prison to which they’d been transferred, noting its security level. Corrections denied a request for the accompanying pre-transfer security levels of each inmate.

Statewide, there are 1,750 currently unoccupied beds in max prisons, Puzzello said. However, the majority are in cells designed for two inmates and most prisoners are in single-occupancy cells, so short staffing isn’t to blame, she maintained. The agency continues to vigorously recruit security cadets.

Improperly placed inmates pose a risk

Employees are unconvinced and believe some inmates who qualify for max security have been diverted to less secure places, posing a risk to inmates as well as staff.

Although not part of the latest transfers, an offender moved to Sheridan Correctional Center in north-central Illinois from Stateville in November 2023 viciously attacked a prison educator, who required facial reconstruction surgery, according to the employees’ union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31.

There have been at least two suspected homicides of inmates since mid-2024, but corrections denied the AP’s public records request for information on them. The news agency is appealing that decision.

‘Maximum security beds are in short supply’

High-security bed space appears to have been an issue months before Stateville’s shutdown. In minutes obtained by the AP from a December 2023 management meeting at Dixon Correctional Center in northern Illinois, administrators advised staff to “use good judgment” before upgrading a troublemaker’s risk level to maximum, necessitating a transfer.

“Maximum security beds throughout the state are in short supply,” the minutes say. “If we try to transfer all the max security individuals, they will more than likely just end up at another medium security facility.”

Puzzello reiterated that none of the Stateville transfers had security downgrades. She said transfers are based not only on criminal background but on programming needs, medical and mental health treatment and staffing ratios at the receiving facility.

“This ensures each individual’s classification is appropriate and tailored to their specific risk factors, behaviors and needs, supporting a safe and secure correctional environment,” Puzzello said.

However, a general corrections guideline is that any offender serving a sentence of 30 or more years be housed in a maximum-security cell. Those with 10 to 30 years go to medium, according to the guideline.

Of ex-Stateville inmates, 261 — or 64% — locked up for 30 or more years are now sitting in medium-security prisons, according to the AP review.

AFSCME spokesperson Anders Lindall said prison counselors who evaluated each inmate for an appropriate transfer location believed management had already decided where each would go. Puzzello denied that happened.

Lindall said the union received reports of “ongoing instances of recommendations made at the facility level — by employees whose job it is to evaluate, classify and place the offenders who they know best — being overruled by departmental management.”

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Illinois

Western Illinois election results for April 1, 2025

Published

5 hours ago

April 2, 2025

Press Room

Western Illinois election results for April 1, 2025

Voters on Tuesday decided elections for city government, school board, and other local positions. There were also referenda on ballots around the region.

The unofficial outcomes of contested elections are listed below, starting with municipal governments listed in alphabetical order. Those are followed by school boards and then referenda.

Results from Hancock County were not available Tuesday night.

Abingdon Mayor

Jason Johnson 412

Stewart Powell 346

Abingdon City Council – Ward 3

Two-year unexpired term

Doug Thomas 113

Michael DeJaynes 75

Raymond Hutson 38

Abingdon City Council – Ward 4

Heather Thompson 67

Tim Presley 26

Alexis Village President

Moses Anderson 55

Rick Benson 39

Alexis Village Trustee

Vote for three

Paula Olson 66

Pat Brenner 50

Tony Cornell 49

Hope Fontenoy 45

Astoria Library District Trustee

Vote for three

Shaina Thiner 18

Kathryn Bridges 13

Addie Kimbro 9

Anna Pilger 5

Basco Village President

James Damron

Michelle Noble

Browning Village President

Cody Smith 31

Burl Boyd 22

Canton Mayor

Kent McDowell 1,480

Ben Hendricks 763

Canton City Council – Ward 1

David Pickel 321

Angelia Lingenfelter 263

Colchester Mayor

Mark Clark (Rep) 173

Eric Haines (Dem) 93

Colchester City Council – Ward 2

Martha Clark (Rep) 88

Mary Garlick (Dem) 37

Cuba City Council – Ward 2

Rodney Lynch 38

Brian Anderson 14

Cuba City Council – Ward 3

Douglas Falk 77

Karena Cozad 28

Ferris Village Trustee

Vote for three

Terence Vass

David Mott

Steven Brown

Tim Martin

Galesburg Mayor

Peter Schwartzman 2,831

John Pritchard 2,455

Galesburg City Council – Ward 2

Wendel Hunigan 308

Wayne Dennis 201

Galesburg City Council – Ward 4

Dwight White 165

Corine Andersen 106

Galesburg City Council – Ward 6

Greg Saul 504

Tianna Cervantez 342

Demarkius Medley, Sr 88

Galesburg Township Supervisor

Kimberly Thierry 2,983

Jennifer Fredrick 2,146

Lewistown Mayor

Cynthia Goddard 242

Roger Clark 153

Lomax Village President

Brian Grisham 74

Phillip Butler 52

Macomb City Council – At-Large

Jennifer Hemingway 577

Tammie Leigh Brown-Edwards 522

Monmouth Mayor

Rod Davies 874

Sean Cavanaugh 727

Nauvoo City Council – Ward 1

Rita Souther

Barbara Schafer

Oquawka Village Trustee

Vote for three

Brenda Tee 149

Nancy Bundy 128

James Miller 84

Tammy Bundy 84

Plymouth Village Trustee

Vote for three

Andrea Cox

Shelly Conover

Cody Smith

Kyle Thompson

Pontoosuc Village President

Floyd Maynard

Bryan Long

Pontoosuc Village Trustee

Vote for four

James Olson

Carol Ried

Thomas Burch

Alice Vantiger

Brent Akers

Paige Akers

Raritan Village Trustee

Vote for three

Rhonda Blender 29

Nicholas White 17

Timothy Douglas Boyd 16

Toni Hendrickson 12

Krystal Reighard 11

St. Augustine Village President

David Schisler 22

Ricky Aldridge 11

Vermont Village Clerk

Cary Little 82

Sarah Hamm 12

Warsaw Mayor

Jeff Brookhart

Richard Hauk

Glenn McLaughlin

Wataga Village Trustee

Vote for three

Kevin Stone 88

Thomas Lytle 80

Caleb Bean 64

Rochelle Olson 62

School Districts

Abingdon-Avon School District 276

Vote for four

Sarah Batson 988

Chancey Weidenhamer 963

David Lee Serven 879

Richard Quinn 859

Michael Kyle Thurman 820

Zachary Grace 587

Astoria School District 1

Vote for four

Austin Cameron 158

Derek Prather 144

Jill Easley 129

Peter Egleton 119

Patrick Skiles 64

Carina Kapraun 32

Canton School District 66

Vote for two

Brian Spiva 1,141

Caitlin Mason 1,057

Jane Lewis 928

Christopher Piper 831

Amber Schappaugh 830

Carl Sandburg Community College District 518

Vote for two

Jeffrey Wittsitt 42%

Angel Peterson 40%

DeVone Eurales 19%

Carthage Elementary School District 317

Vote for four

Gary Jackson

Linda Brooks Housewright

Stephanie Kristine Fitch

Christine White

Jacob Murphy

Fulton County School District 3

Vote for four

Valerie Wilson 399

Sue McCance 375

Lindsey Heitz Lindsey 374

Debora Deakin 302

James Richardson 296

Galesburg School District 205 – Galesburg Township

Vote for two

Luan Statham 2,998

Rod Scherpe 1,986

Robert “Bo” Irons 1,698

Jaclyn Smith-Esters 1,477

Pamella Bess-Tabb 1,328

Galesburg School District 205 – Remaining Congressional Townships

Vote for two

Maurice Lyon 2,519

Jamie Harter 2,426

Terra Boettcher 2,109

Benjamin Yeutson 1,717

Knoxville School District 202 – Knox Township

Vote for two

Charles Hillery 344

Darcy Young 202

Phillip Parks, Jr. 190

LaHarpe Elementary School District 347

Vote for four

Joshua Gebhardt

Chad Burt

Josh Walker

William Collins

Joni Dowell

Lewistown School District 97

Vote for four

Dale Schaeffer 576

Elaine Stone 541

Scott Schaeffer 536

Joshua Jay Miller 459

Brett Belless 378

Macomb School District 185

Vote for four

Kishor Kapale 1,089

Justice Keene 1,003

John “Larry” Adams 938

Nate McGraw 925

Lorette Oden 903

Monmouth-Roseville School District 238

Vote for four

Amy Rogers 1,417

Kira Schumm 1,116

Phillip Brooks 1,097

Amy Gaule 1,075

Yulissa Sparks 640

United School District 304

Vote for four

Henry Shimmin 734

Joshua Oaks 716

Jill Marie Jenks 575

Holly Tharp 514

Danny Toops 454

Katrina Kessler 378

Chris Menge 197

VIT School District 2

Vote for three

Joshua Miller 200

Larry Payne 185

Darryl Holmes 151

Zachary Parker 94

Referenda

Abingdon-Avon School District 276 Referendum

Shall the board issue $6 million in bonds to build and equip an addition to the middle school building and repair existing facilities?

Yes 362

No 989

Hancock County Schools Referendum

Shall the county impose a one-percent sales tax to pay for school facilities, school resource officers, and mental health professionals?

Yes

LaHarpe School District 347 Referendum

Shall the board issue $3.9 million in school building bonds to build and equip an addition to the LaHarpe Elementary/Junior High School building?

Yes

Roseville Village Referendum

Shall the village allow residents to keep female poultry?

Yes 149

No 77

Schuyler County Road Tax Referendum

Shall a special tax be levied for repairing all county roads?

Yes 539

No 512

Warren County School Facility Tax Referendum

Should the county’s school district be allowed to use revenues from the school facility tax to also pay for school resource officers and mental health professionals?

Yes 2,333

No 887

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Illinois

Illinois election: Thornton Township voters decide on next supervisor

Published

16 hours ago

April 1, 2025

Press Room

Illinois election: Thornton Township voters decide on next supervisor

THORNTON TWP., Ill. – Voters in Thornton Township will have a chance to decide who will be the next supervisor of the largest township in the state.

What we know:

Democrat Napoleon B. Harris III, a state senator, Republican Richard Nolan, Christopher Clark, the mayor of Harvey, and independent Nate Fields Jr. are vying for the role.

Incumbent Tiffany Henyard will not be on the ballot as she lost the Democratic nomination earlier this year to Harris. She will still be running as a write-in candidate.

The supervisor has significant control over township jobs, funding for community programs and neighborhood development.

The township has about 185,000 residents across 17 municipalities.

The backstory:

Henyard’s time leading the township has been marred by controversy, disputes with sitting trustees, which led to financial problems, and even a brawl that broke out at a January board meeting.

Residents in the township have expressed concern about the infighting within the current administration and transparency, Henyard’s reported $240,000 salary, and overall fiscal responsibility.

“People want to have peace here, and they want to make sure that they’re represented by a good person in office,” said Riley Rogers, the former mayor of Dolton. “There’s been a lot of turmoil here in Dolton and also in Thornton Township, so there’s gonna be a mandate today, I think.”

Rogers said he’s seen voters come out on Tuesday enthusiastic to cast their ballots.

Varnetta Williams, a township resident, said she was “tired” of the rising costs of property taxes and bills for gas and other services. Township governments are funded by local property taxes.

Henyard also lost in the primary election to retain her seat as the mayor of the Village of Dolton earlier this year.

NewsElectionCook CountyTiffany Henyard

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