0n '?Ie Move June-July 2013 3 Prison closures cause violence, overcrowding mil tut ,lil iiu?lm ?l 1' I Elvin" 4.9- I {lite 4'77" I l' he toll from the Quinn administration's push to close state correctional facilities continues to rise: more violence, more overcrowding, more threats to safety for both staff and inmates. AT MENARD CC, THREE INMATES HAVE BEEN MURDERED SINCE THE START OF THE YEAR AND A STUDY by the local newspaper deter- mined setiousaults have increased by 50 percent. At Pontiac CC, inmates classi?ed as too dangerous to share a cell are now doing exactly that. And at Danville CC in May, a correctional ofli cer was assaulted in a laundry facility by one inmate and had to be rescued by another. The attacker was imprisoned for aggravated domestic battery and. by rule, should never have been working in the laundry. "Having to rely on inmates to rescue correctional officers is insane," said AFSCME Council 31 stallrep- resen tative Michael Wilmore. "If the unit had been stalled as it should have been, this Wouldn't have happened." The continuing over- crowding and violence at state correctional facilities has only been made worse by manage? ment's rampant use of tempo- ?r rary assignments, which often results in correctional of?cers normally tasked with ensur- ing safety and security instead handling everything from clerical duties to laundry and cafeteria work. "This has been an ongo- ing imue we've had with the department,? said AFSCME Council 3] regional director Eddie Caumiant. "Temporary assignments themselves are not inherently bad but man- agement has relied on them to the exclusion of ?lling posi- tions, and that's become a real problem.? The abuse of temporary assignments spurred an AFSCME lawsuit that resulted in a settlement between the union and DOC. Under the terms of the settlement. the union will have the sole authority to reject the exten- sion of any temporary assign- ment beyond what's allowed in the contract, All current temporary assignments with an unapproved extension will have ceased byjune 30. ?We have an enforceable agreement that will not allow them any wiggle room to vio- late the con tract." Caumiant said. "We have the ability, as we've done in other agencies, to stop temporary assign- ments when appropriate or to use the leverage of the agree- ltlusvation l:me Watson Gang-related incidenls rising WITH FORMER TAMMS INMATES spread throughout the sys- tem. some facilities have seen a rekinclling of gang-orien ted violence that had been better controlled. Some ofTamms's most notorious inmates had been gangleaders before; incarceration. "We see that inmates are trying to do more organizing based on the af?liations with "lfa guy misbehaves, he used to besentout of ow facility Now he's just moved to the next housing unit." ?Rob Fanu' ment to get those ?lled on a permanent basis. The settlement is a wel- come relief at a time when overcrowding continues to plague the correctional tem and is only getting worse. Tamms CC home of the state's most dangerous inmates was closed in Janu? ary and Dwight CC closed in March. gangs,? said Ralph Portwood, president ofLocal 1866 and a correctional officer at Stat- cville CC. ?We had three or four stall" members assaulted? by inmates who had been in different mobs but had been brought together into one gang-n The overcrowding has also led to a breakdown in the organization that typically ensures inmates are placed in the right facilities and units based on their crimes and the threat they pose. ?You have maximum- security inmates in medium- security and medium?security inmates in minimum-securi- ty,? said Local 472 President Rob Fanti, a correctional counselor at Sheridan CC. Fanti noted that over- crowding is about more than cramming more people into a facility. It also disrupts programming. For example, Sheridan CC had operated as a dedicated substance abuse facility with a strong emphasis on therapy and rehabilitation. But with inmates from all over the system coming through Sheridan's gates, convicted ofa tori ety of crimes, that mission is now at risk. "It was a therapeutic com- munity, but we?re no longer that,? he said. "We now have general population inmates who are in the therapeutic community. Ifa guy misbe- haves, he used to be sent out of our facility. Now he'sjust moved to the next housing unit.? More crowding, more assaults PONTIAC CC HAS SEEN A RISE 1N inmateon?inmatc violence since overcrowding forced it to put dangerous inmates two- to-a-cell, even though they should be segregated. That requires the use of two COS, instead ofone, every time even one ofthe inmates leaves his cell. It has also led to an outbreak ofasaults among the prison's popula- tion. ?We're averaging more than one assault a week," said Local 494 President Frank Turner. "When you start dou- bling up violent inmates. you're going to have prob- lems Those problems, unfortu- nately, may become even worse. Portwood noted that inmates at his facility are start- ing to disregard COs, espe- cially since they know there's no longer a threat ofbeing sent to Tamms. ?The deterrent we had before isn't there and the inmates are acting like it," he said. ?Nowit takes three warning shots to make them stop when things get out of hand. It used to bejust pulling out a gun was deter- rent enough.?