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Tamms
Quick Hit
by Matthew Blake
4:47pm
Fri Nov 2, 2012

Southern Illinois State Senate Candidates Slam Quinn

Miles south of Springfield, much less Chicago, the 59th district state senate race at the southern tip of Illinois between incumbent Democrat Gary Forby (pictured) and Republican challenger Mark Minor is often a contest of who can best criticize Gov. Pat Quinn, the state’s Democratic governor who hails from the Windy City.

“Beating up on Chicago is a time-honored tradition in southern Illinois,” says John Jackson a political science professor at the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois. “The Democrat is running against the governor as hard as the Republican is.”

Quinn is taking a beating for reasons that go beyond a general wariness of Chicago politicians.

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Quick Hit
by Matthew Blake
4:24pm
Tue Oct 30, 2012

Quinn Gets A Win On Prisons, But Litigation Drags On

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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PI Original
by Matthew Blake
5:57pm
Thu Oct 11, 2012
2 comments

Quinn's Prison Closing Plan In Limbo

Prisons

Gov. Pat Quinn’s plan to close seven state corrections and juvenile justice facilities, including Tamms super max prison, is in serious jeopardy after Circuit Court Judge Charles Cavaness sided with AFSCME yesterday and issued an injunction to stop the shut downs.

Quick Hit
by Matthew Blake
6:55pm
Wed Sep 26, 2012

Lawmakers, Advocates Make Human Rights Case To Close Tamms

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 »

Quick Hit
by Matthew Blake
1:14pm
Wed Sep 19, 2012

As Prison Population Goes Up, Facility Closure Plan Stalls

Illinois prison reform advocates received news sparking two causes for concern in the last few days.

On Friday, a state appellate court denied Gov. Pat Quinn’s appeal to undo a restraining order that has postponed state facility closings, including the shut down of Tamms Supermax Prison. And yesterday the Associated Press reported that the state’s prison population hit a record-high of 49,154 inmates over the weekend. The Illinois Department of Corrections system is designed to hold 33,700 prisoners. Read more »