Illinois
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.”
An Illinois high school football assistant coach has been arrested on criminal sexual abuse charges.
High School on SI previously reported that John “Jake” Wakey had been placed on leave and was being investigated after the FBI received a tip accusing an employee of inappropriate sexual conduct involving a former student over a year ago.
From that tip, investigators confirmed that at least eight students from 2013 to 2015 were abused by Wakey, according to a report by Capitol News Illinois. Thursday, he was arrested and charged with nine Class 2 felony counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
Illinois Assistant Football Coach Was Investigated By FBI, Local Law Enforcement
The charges involve victims aged 13-to-17 by a person in a position of trust during the 2013, 2014 and 2015 school years. Four former students provided statements to Williamson County detectives, with eight total potential victims being connected to the investigation.
“Of those eight identifiable victims, four individuals have presently memorialized the facts of their experiences on the records with investigators, which ultimately formed the basis for the charges announced,” Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Diederich said during a press conference. “In cases involving criminal sexual abuse, it frequently requires a victim-survivor to come forward, disclose what occurred and allow investigators to memorialize those facts for prosecution.
“For many victims, that process can take months or even years, as appears to have occurred in this investigation.”
It was also reported that the offenses involved members of the Carterville High School football team, where Wakey served as an assistant coach.
John “Jake” Wakey Has Previously Been In Trouble As Teacher, Coach
Wakey was placed on paid administrative leave back in February 2026 once the school district received word that he was involved in an investigation. He had worked for the Carterville School District since 2003 as both a teacher and as an assistant football coach.
Previously, Wakey had been suspended for 10 days in 2009 after being accused of inappropriately texting students, allowing students at his home and drinking in front of students. He was not charged at the time. He also received a misdemeanor conviction for providing liquor to minors in 2003 before joining Carterville.
“The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office is aware of longstanding community concerns, suspicions, rumors and allegations involving inappropriate conduct, including allegations related to alcohol, student-teacher contact and the sharing of images involving students and/or faculty members,” Diederich said.
Wakey is set to be held at the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office after being transferred from the Livingston County Jail. The Carterville Board of Education is expected to hold a special meeting to take action on the “discipline and/or dismissal of a licensed employee of the District.”
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Beach Park’s Lake Michigan dunes stretch from town toward the Wisconsin line, all sand and waves and no high-rises in sight. Up the Fox River, paddlewheel boats move past picnic blankets in St. Charles. Hot air balloons drift over Galena’s Mississippi bluffs every June. Woodstock’s town square stays just as walkable in July as it was when Bill Murray walked it over and over in Groundhog Day. Eight Illinois small towns where summer breaks open in a different direction.
St. Charles
St. Charles is more than a Chicago commuter town. It sits 40 miles west of the city, close enough for an afternoon shopping trip, but St. Charles itself is family-built. The Fox River runs through downtown lined with parks. Mount Saint Mary Park works for dogs and kids, and Wheeler Park has playgrounds, mini golf, and disc golf. On the east side, Pottawatomie Park stretches north into Norris Woods Nature Preserve. Weekend traffic concentrates here for picnics, frisbees, garden walks, kayaking, and even paddlewheel riverboat tours aboard the “St. Charles Belle” and “Fox River Queen.”
Geneva
The Fox River keeps going south through Geneva, and so does the park network. Summer visitors will find the Fabyan Villa Museum & Japanese Garden and the German-built Fabyan Windmill on either side of the Fabyan Forest Preserve, with the Sacred Heart Grotto monument inside the Gunnar Anderson Forest Preserve. Downtown Geneva has refurbished its Victorian-era commercial core, which now runs independent retailers and restaurants out of renovated houses. Time a trip for the Swedish Days festival in late June or the Geneva Classic Car Show in mid-July.
Beach Park
Northeastern Illinois owns the southwestern chunk of Lake Michigan, and Beach Park is the village holding most of the protected stretch. From Beach Park up toward the Wisconsin border, the lakeshore runs through parkland and beach preserves end to end. Illinois Beach Nature Preserve flows into Illinois Beach State Park, which connects north to North Dunes Nature Preserve. Visitors get sandy beaches and dunes interspersed with wildflowers, hiking and biking paths, a 241-site campground, bird-watching, fishing, boating, swimming, and even SCUBA diving. The lodging and lakeside eateries run along Sheridan Road just off the water.
Galena
Galena, in the northwestern corner of the state, runs on stately architecture and the bluffs of the Mississippi River and the Galena River that bisects the town. The Italianate-style home of former president and Civil War general Ulysses S. Grant is one of many 19th-century brick buildings on the National Register here. Galena’s downtown, voted one of America’s Best Main Streets, runs more than 125 individual shops and restaurants along a single strip. Late June brings the Great Galena Balloon Race, when roughly two dozen hot air balloons float across the bluffs at sunrise.
Mount Carroll
About 40 miles south of Galena, Mount Carroll sits just inland from the Mississippi River with a population around 1,500 and a business district that punches harder than that count would suggest. Red brick pavement runs alongside a multi-colored strip of historic buildings now housing cafes, galleries, restaurants, antique shops, and inns. On the edge of town, the 371-seat Timber Lake Playhouse hits its stride in summer with musicals, classic plays, and new productions. West of town along the Mississippi, the 2,500-acre Mississippi Palisades State Park has dense forests, river bluffs, and a campground.
Galesburg
Galesburg is a railroad town that brings the heat to western Illinois. Train enthusiasts can spend an afternoon at the Galesburg Railroad Museum, classical music fans can catch a concert by the Knox-Galesburg Symphony at the Orpheum Theatre, coffee drinkers and shoppers can take to the vendors along downtown’s Seminary Street, and kids will find the Discovery Depot Children’s Museum on Mulberry Street, with hands-on exhibits and art studios. All of this runs year-round but reads better with a warm sun between exhibits and a few minutes on a shaded bench.
Arlington Heights
Arlington Heights is another Chicago suburb, this time to the northwest, that pulls weight in summer. Like St. Charles and Geneva, it gives residents a break from the city while keeping the metro within reach. Parks and golf courses ring the village. Busse Woods has an elk habitat and a winding lake, Deer Grove Forest Preserve handles hiking, fishing, and wildlife viewing, Buffalo Creek Forest Preserve adds a short boardwalk to all of the above, and little Lake Arlington rounds it out. Right next to the train station, the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre is a 329-seat venue running music, comedy, and cabaret. The dining options run from tapas to Thai, pho, Italian, Mexican, and most of the rest of the world map.
Woodstock
About 40 miles northwest of Arlington Heights, near the Wisconsin border, Woodstock (not the New York one) is as cool as the name suggests. The Woodstock Folk Festival has been running annually for nearly forty years, with local and international performers on the main stage at the Woodstock Square Historic District, which has been listed on the National Register since 1982. The Woodstock Opera House, built in 1889, still books shows, and the McHenry County Courthouse, built in 1857, has been converted to a museum, events venue, and historic landmark. After a few blocks the streetscape will start to look familiar. Woodstock was the primary filming location for the Bill Murray classic Groundhog Day.
Summer vacations in America take many forms. The Atlantic and Pacific coasts call hard this time of year. The mountains, just past the last of the skiers, exert a different kind of pull on warm-weather travelers. But the Midwest has an understated case to make, and these eight Illinois towns make it. Community events, one-of-a-kind shops and restaurants, parks aplenty, and even a long stretch of the Great Lakes all await.
Springfield-area nursing homes fined thousands of dollars to end 2025
Multiple Springfield-area nursing homes were fined during the fourth quarter of 2025.
The State Journal-Register
SPRINGFIELD – Four times a year, an Illinois agency releases a report showing violations against nursing homes, and how much the facilities were fined.
The Illinois Department of Public Health recently released its fourth quarter report that spans from October to December of 2025.
Here are facilities within about 45 minutes of Springfield that were fined for violations.
Arcadia Care on the Hill, Springfield
Address: 555 W. Carpenter Road
Fined: $25,000
Survey date: Sept. 17, 2025
What: The facility failed to ensure competency of the Professional Nursing staff when that staff failed to provide one resident in a crisis condition the correct medication. The resident did not receive his glucagon when needed, resulting to his blood sugar dropping to a critical low. The resident was taken to the hospital and subsequently admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.
Arcadia Care on the Hill, Springfield
Address: 555 W. Carpenter Road
Fined: $2,200
Survey date: Oct. 17, 2025
What: The facility failed to send the results of a urinalysis and urine culture in a timely manner to one resident’s urologist. This failure resulted in a nonverbal resident being taken to the emergency room where he was diagnosed with a UTI. IDPH said the failure caused pain, discomfort and invasive interventions during a hospital visit.
After readmission, the facility failed to reassess the resident for warning signs of sepsis for multiple days prior to having a change in condition on Feb. 20, 2024. The resident was again taken to the emergency room and diagnosed with a UTI and sepsis.
Additionally, facility staff failed to complete change in condition documentation which included current vital signs and assessment of two residents reviewed for change in condition. These residents were also taken to the emergency room.
Curtiss Court, Springfield
Address: 2883 S. Taylor St.
Fined: $1,100
Survey date: Aug. 7, 2025
What: IDPH found the facility failed to identify two occurrences of abuse for a resident, failed to verbally notify administrator of abuse allegations per policy, failed to investigate abuse allegations and failed to protect individuals from alleged perpetrator. This failure resulted in the resident feeling targeted and anxious.
The facility also failed to prevent elopement for one resident with a known history of elopement and allergy to bee venom without an EpiPen. This failure resulted in the person walking out of the door unsupervised. Local first responders then found the resident on the asphalt in a parking lot, playing in a puddle of water, around 0.4 miles from the facility and without their EpiPen.
Arcadia Care, Auburn
Address: 304 Maple Ave.
Fined: $2,200
Survey date: Aug. 27, 2025
What: The facility failed to ensure room temperatures were within the heat index/apparent temperature guidelines inside the facility and did not exceed 81 degrees Fahrenheit. The facility also failed to follow their Heat Emergency Policy as residents were not moved out of their rooms when temperatures were reached over 81 degrees for four residents. This failure resulted in residents being left in rooms with the heat index, indicating extreme caution to the residents.
Sunny Acres Nursing Home, Petersburg
Address: 19130 Sunny Acres Road
Fined: $2,200
Survey date: July 26, 2025
What: The facility failed to protect a resident from staff-to-resident mental and verbal abuse for two residents. These findings resulted in a Certified Nursing Assistant yelling at a resident and causing them to feel belittled, to feel like a child, and feel verbally abused, according to IDPH.
Taylorville Care Center, Taylorville
Address: 600 S. Houston St.
Fined: $1,000
Survey date: Aug. 15, 2025
What: The facility failed to conduct pre-employment screening and obtain results of fingerprint checks to determine if employees had a prior criminal history that would disqualify them for employment.
Sunrise Skilled Nursing & Rehab, Virden
Address: 333 S. Wrightsman St.
Fined: $2,200
Survey date: Sept. 4, 2025
Based on interview, observation, and record review, the facility failed to provide supervision to prevent falls for one of three residents reviewed for falls.
Sunrise Skilled Nursing & Rehab, Virden
Address: 333 S. Wrightsman St.
Fined: $25,000
Survey date: Oct. 14, 2025
What: IDPH said the facility failed to properly transfer a resident for appropriate safe transfers. This failure resulted in the resident having a fall, sustaining a right hip fracture and ultimately passing away.
Lincoln Village Healthcare, Lincoln
Address: 2202 N. Kickapoo St.
Fined: $4,400
Survey date: July 20, 2025
What: IDPH found three residents experienced symptoms after not receiving prescribed opioid medication, indicating the health facility failed to perform proper pain assessments and implement pain relieving interventions when residents were not receiving their prescribed medicine.
Lincoln Village Healthcare, Lincoln
Address: 2202 N. Kickapoo St.
Fined: $25,000
Survey date: Sept. 10, 2025
What: IDPH said a resident was taken to the hospital after the facility failed to protect a wound from insect contamination.
Fair Havens Senior Living, Decatur
Address: 1790 S. Fairview Ave.
Fined: $25,000
Survey date: Aug. 13, 2025
What: The facility failed to ensure physician orders were accurately transcribed and implemented for one resident reviewed for blood glucose monitoring. These failures resulted in the resident being hospitalized.
Arc at Hickory Point, Forsyth
Address: 565 W. Marion Ave.
Fined: $25,000
Survey date: Sept. 3, 2025
What: A resident fell and suffered multiple fractured ribs and a collapsed lung. IDPH said the facility failed to ensure fall interventions were in place to prevent the resident from falling.
Tom Ackerman covers breaking news and trending news along with general news for the Springfield State Journal-Register. He can be reached at tackerman@usatodayco.com.
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