Since the release of the Richard Speck tape almost 20 years ago, spending in the IDOC has been heavily imbalanced toward security resulting in Illinois building several new prisons. Pinckneyville and Lawrence are currently operational, but IDOC also completed the construction of Thompson which was never opened and started construction of a facility in Grayslake which was never completed. Another new construction was Tamms Super Max which was ultimately closed because it was a failure. Tamms only housed a fraction of the inmate population it was built to hold but cost the most to operate. Additonally, instead of providing correctional influence it was a torture chamber. Tamms is a perfect example of the unhealthy shift by IDOC towards increased security spending and the total rejection of its mission of prisoner rehabilitation.
The excessive prison expansion cost Illinois tax payers 100’s of millions of dollars in wasted building costs and maintenance. Factor in the cost of salaries and pension liabilities due to the increase of guards and administrative personnel to Illinois already crushing debt, and it becomes apparent just how much this unhealthy balance has cost this state.
The shift from a healthy balance of security and programs has also resulted in a hefty cost for tax payers in other ways. Recidivism rate have increased in part because prisoners return home more violent, aggressive and less educated. How can a person be locked up more than 20 hours every day, in most cases for many years, and upon release be prepared to re-establish themselves back into society? Twenty plus hours a day in a cell is standard in both maximum and medium security prisons, and the the lack of programs and time spent out of a cell severely limits opportunities for socialization. Most prisoners cannot be expected to succeed in society when they have been denied basic social opportunities in prison. Serious dialogues need to be immediatley planned concerning ways to rebalance spending in IDOC. These conversations can provide new ideas, ways of support, prospective partnerships and important feedback concerning this issue.