Gov. Pat Quinn's proposed fiscal year 2013 budget will not only close corrections facilities, it will cut $12.1 million in drug abuse treatment and job training programs. The prison watchdog, the John Howard Association, gives Quinn qualified praise for some of these facility shut downs, like the Supermax prison at Tamms. But John Maki, executive director of the John Howard Association, says cutting these programs might increase the prison population, as more prisoners suffer from substance abuse -- and lack employable skills.

Besides Tamms, Quinn proposed closing the women's prison in Dwight and six halfway houses, including the Sheridan Correctional Center and Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center, which both specialize in drug treatment. The Illinois General Assembly last week started the process of considering the governor's budget.

The Illinois prison system is built to hold 33,000 inmates, but had an inmate population of 48,300 at the end of February.