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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE RESOLUTION 233

2    AMENDMENT NO. ___. Amend House Resolution 233 by replacing
3everything after the heading with the following:
 
4    "WHEREAS, The Tamms Correctional Center opened in 1995 in
5Tamms, Alexander County as a 200-bed minimum-security prison;
6in 1998, it expanded, adding a 500-bed facility, designed to
7hold the most dangerous and violent male prisoners in the
8State; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Following the closure of the Tamms Correctional
10Center in January of 2013, the inmates were transferred to
11maximum security prisons; this put a strain on the already
12overly crowded State correctional system; with the
13maximum-security prisons taking in more inmates, many of their
14existing inmates were then transferred to lower-security
15facilities; this trend rippled through the State system; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Currently, the State correctional system holds
2around 49,000 inmates, however the facilities that are open are
3designed to hold around 32,000 inmates; with the State's
4prisons being so drastically over-crowded, staff and inmate
5safety has again become a major cause of concern; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The current levels of inmates in the overly
7crowded State correctional system has caused major concern for
8the safety of staff working in the prisons; at Pickneyville
9Correctional Center on September 25, 2013, inmate Rodolfo Rosas
10attacked 3 male guards and one female guard; they were taken to
11an area hospital and treated for various injuries, including a
12broken nose; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Over-crowded correctional facilities are not just
14a safety problem for staff but also create a dangerous
15atmosphere for other inmates; since the closure of the Tamms
16Correctional Center, other facilities having to deal with the
17over-population issue have resorted to moving hundreds of
18inmates into a gymnasium as cells have become too crowded; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Incidents of violent fights between inmates have
20increased since the closure of the Tamms Correctional Center
21because the current correctional system is having difficulty
22handling the over-populated prisons; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, If the State of Illinois would utilize the former
2Tamms Correctional Center it could help increase safety inside
3the State's correctional centers for both the staff and
4inmates; the space inside the former Tamms Correctional Center
5would also greatly help to reduce the strain over the State's
6over-populated correctional centers; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The former Tamms Correctional Center should be
8refitted and reopened in order to ensure the best outcomes for
9inmates and staff in helping to keep people safe and in helping
10aid in rehabilitation; therefore, be it
 
11    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
12NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
13urge Governor Rauner to refit and reopen the former Tamms
14Correctional Center to help control the over-crowding in the
15State's correction system and to ensure the safety of
16correctional staff and inmates; and be it further
 
17    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
18delivered to Governor Rauner and the Director of Corrections.".