Full Text of SR1004 97th General Assembly
SR1004 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Corrections is | 3 | | required by law to house inmates committed to State prison; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Various trends and factors, including population | 5 | | increases, sentencing laws, and recidivism rates have created | 6 | | circumstances in which the Illinois Department of Corrections | 7 | | is now required to house a record number of inmates in the | 8 | | prison system, with a total inmate population currently more | 9 | | than 48,000 inmates in a system designed for 33,700 inmates; | 10 | | and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Due to the record number of inmates currently | 12 | | housed in prison in Illinois, several facilities are now at or | 13 | | above maximum operational capacity, requiring the Illinois | 14 | | Department of Corrections to house inmates in conditions that | 15 | | pose substantial safety risks, namely, prison areas never | 16 | | designed or intended for inmate housing, including, but not | 17 | | limited to, common areas such as prison gymnasiums, dayrooms, | 18 | | and program rooms; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Despite an overcrowded and understaffed prison | 20 | | system, the Governor has announced the closure of several | 21 | | facilities, including Tamms, Dwight and several Adult | 22 | | Transition Centers, as well as brokered the sale of the unused |
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| 1 | | Thomson Correctional Center; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Overcrowded, understaffed prisons with inadequate | 3 | | facilities and work/treatment programs are a serious threat to | 4 | | staff, inmates and the citizens of this State; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, The staff reductions, facility closures, and | 6 | | placement of dangerous inmates into medium security prisons has | 7 | | led to a rise in inmate violence; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, The Governor's current policy has resulted in | 9 | | increased gang organization by the Latin Kings, Gangster | 10 | | Disciples and other well-known gangs; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Overcrowded prison conditions are | 12 | | counter-productive to the goals of imprisonment in this State; | 13 | | and | 14 | | WHEREAS, The Governor and Director of Corrections have | 15 | | failed to take action in this crisis; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Recent media reports indicate that the Illinois | 17 | | Department of Corrections has been understaffed and | 18 | | overcrowded for years, and the problem has only been made worse | 19 | | by an inept and even, in some cases, corrupt Illinois | 20 | | Department of Corrections administrative team; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The Governor has failed to respond to serious | 2 | | allegations against senior officials within the Illinois | 3 | | Department of Corrections; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, These issues could be addressed by replacing | 5 | | senior agency officials, including the Director, Executive | 6 | | Chief, Deputy Chief of Operations and Southern Illinois Deputy | 7 | | Director; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, The continued lack of transparency and lack of | 9 | | control by the Governor creates serious public safety concerns | 10 | | and allows for an environment of corruption; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, The Governor's planned closures will result in a | 12 | | loss of more than 1,000 jobs; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Lawmakers provided funding for the facilities in | 14 | | the budget but this funding was later vetoed by the Governor; | 15 | | therefore, be it | 16 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | 17 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Senate | 18 | | Appropriations Committees shall jointly review the misconduct | 19 | | and mismanagement in the Illinois Department of Corrections; | 20 | | and be it further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Corrections and | 2 | | any other State agency, entity, or person that may have | 3 | | information relevant to this investigation cooperate fully and | 4 | | promptly with the Committee's investigation; and be it further
| 5 | | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Corrections | 6 | | develop comprehensive plans to ensure that the public is | 7 | | informed about the operations of all correctional and detention | 8 | | facilities within its jurisdiction and that those facilities | 9 | | are accountable to the General Assembly, the public, and the | 10 | | media; and be it further | 11 | | RESOLVED, That the Governor seek the immediate | 12 | | resignations of the Director, Executive Chief, Deputy Chief of | 13 | | Operations and Southern Illinois Deputy Director, then begin an | 14 | | immediate internal investigation into the negligence and | 15 | | corruption within the Illinois Department of Corrections; and | 16 | | be it further | 17 | | RESOLVED, That in order to immediately mitigate the severe | 18 | | overcrowding within the Illinois Department of Corrections | 19 | | facilities the Governor not close any of the proposed | 20 | | facilities; and be it further | 21 | | RESOLVED, That the Senate Appropriations Committees |
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| 1 | | jointly review the physical condition, the size and composition | 2 | | of the inmate population, and any specific and immediate needs | 3 | | of each correctional facility managed or operated by the State; | 4 | | and be it further | 5 | | RESOLVED, That the Senate Appropriations Committees | 6 | | jointly hold public hearings, take testimony, and request | 7 | | detailed and specific information relating to the inmate | 8 | | population and staff of any individual correctional facility | 9 | | managed or operated by the State, as well as the State's prison | 10 | | system at large; and be it further | 11 | | RESOLVED, That the Senate Appropriations Committees' joint | 12 | | review shall include, but not be limited to, the following | 13 | | areas: | 14 | | (1) a detailed composition of current prison | 15 | | populations and their respective requirements for | 16 | | effective reform; | 17 | | (2) the geographical location of inmate families and | 18 | | their respective needs; | 19 | | (3) employee locations, staffing levels, and the | 20 | | demands being placed on prison staffs within the State; | 21 | | (4) the physical condition of each of the State's | 22 | | correctional facilities and their respective needs; | 23 | | (5) the potential necessity for a geriatric | 24 | | correctional facility; |
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| 1 | | (6) criminal sentencing guidelines; | 2 | | (7) the economic impact created, at both the State and | 3 | | local levels, by each of the State's correctional | 4 | | facilities, with special attention given to any | 5 | | correctional facility recommended to be immediately or | 6 | | abruptly decommissioned and their respective populations | 7 | | moved throughout the remainder of the State's prison | 8 | | system; and be it further | 9 | | RESOLVED, That the Senate Appropriations Committees shall | 10 | | jointly issue their findings and recommendations in a final | 11 | | report outlining a long-term objective plan for the State's | 12 | | correctional facilities, the populations they hold, and the | 13 | | workforce needed to best protect the citizens of Illinois, by | 14 | | September 1, 2013.
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