Written by Hutchinson Staff Wednesday, 09 December 2009 08:21
State Commission meets with South Suburban Community members to discuss the fate of local correction facilities
The hearing was hosted by the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. Local elected officials including State Senators Toi Hutchinson (D-Olympia Fields) and Donne Trotter (D-Chicago), as well as State Representatives Will Davis (D-Hazel Crest) and Lisa Dugan (D-Kankakee) were on hand. "Closure of the Kankakee Minimum Security Unit would be a blow to the region on a number of different levels," said Hutchinson. "Although the people employed at these two facilities will keep their jobs, they may have to relocate, taking their investments into our local economy with them. The closures will result in additional economic loss from the discontinued purchasing of local products and services that these facilities depend on." Michael Randle, recently appointed Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections, is faced with cutting the Department’s budget by $50 million due to Illinois’ sluggish economy and mounting state debt. "I understand that Director Michael Randle was tasked with the difficult job of cutting $50 million out of the budget," said Hutchinson. "But a different approach needs to be taken. This facility has only 61 of its 200 beds occupied while other facilities are at or near max capacity. Why hurt the local economy by closing the facility and relocating jobs when we could simply use DOC space more efficiently." According to a report released by the Commission titled "Economic Impacts Associated with Closure of IL Department of Correction facilities in Kankakee and Dixmoor Illinois," the total economic output loss on the region would be almost $3.4 million; including 16 full time positions and $843,000 in total labor income. The loss would come from discontinued purchasing of local products and services, though the report doesn’t represent the loss based by individual communities, just the South suburban region as a whole. "I also have concern for the people in these facilities," said Hutchinson. "The Kankakee Minimum Security unit in the only all-women correctional facility in Illinois and because of its small size, the facility offers one-on-one consulting, providing a greater chance of rehabilitation. These women are non-violent offenders who will be moved to bigger prisons and thrown in with violent offenders and become one of hundreds." COGFA is expected to vote on the matter in January, 2010. Ultimately, the decision will rest with Governor Quinn. "I urge COGFA to vote ‘no’," said Hutchinson. "I also urge DOC to cut costs without taking away tax-based jobs from local economies."
Springfield, IL— Community advocates, state employees, and local elected officials filled the Atrium Building in the Will County fairgrounds in Peotone to voice their opposition to the proposed closure of Kankakee Minimum Security Unit and the Jessie "Ma" Houston Adult Transition Center yesterday.
Senator Hutchinson Menu
40th District
Years served: Appointed January 2009
Committee assignments: Agriculture and Conservation; Labor; Local Government; State Government & Veterans Affairs (Vice-Chairperson); Transportation; Committee of the Whole; Trans Subcommittee Special Issues; Subcommittee on Special Issues.
Biography: Full-time state legislator; Born May 20, 1973; Graduated University of Illinois at Urbana with a Bachelor in English; Olympia Fields Village Clerk from 2002-2006; Harvard Kennedy School of Government Executive Management Program; Women and Power, 2004; Former Chief of Staff to State Senator Debbie Halvorson; Lives in Olympia Fields with husband, Paul, and 3 children.