Progress Illinois

Gov. Pat Quinn scored a big victory Friday in his plan to balance the state budget. Arbitrator Steve Biereg ruled that the state acted reasonably in the June ordering of the shut down of seven different corrections and juvenile justice facilities.

However, the legal clash between Quinn and the AFSCME Council 31 public employees union over the closings continues. The conflict will now stretch past the election and, quite possibly, the Illinois General Assembly’s fall veto session scheduled for late November.

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With the fate of Tamms supermax prison at an impasse, those who support its closure made the case today that the facility must shut down on human rights grounds.

Advocates with the Tamms Year Ten coalition spoke grimly of the 23-hour daily solitary confinement experienced by inmates who are fed through slots in cell doors and often deal with sensory deprivation. Speakers noted that both Amnesty International and the ACLU condemn the prison for violating international human rights agreements.

“This is a moral issue,” declared U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-Chicago). Read more »