Credit: -Tripp- / Flickr.com -- Creative Commons License Quinn budget closes 14 facilities in Illinois, including supermax prisonBy Benjamin Yount Illinois Statehouse News SPRINGFIELD — Illinois could lose two prisons, including the state's only supermax facility, and 1,400 state jobs if lawmakers approve Gov. Pat Quinn's budget. The governor's office unveiled the $33.9 billion spending plan that Quinn will deliver to lawmakers Wednesday at noon in the statehouse. Among the highlights: Pay Illinois' $5.2 billion pension payment Cut $2.7 billion in Medicaid costs Eliminate more than 1,400 state jobs Close 14 state facilities, including four developmental centers and two prisons Quinn's chief of staff Jack Lavin said closing the Tamms supermax prison in far southern Illinois will save the state $26.3 million and allow for "more efficient" use of other prisons. Tamms currently has 389 inmates, including 197 supermax inmates. Much of the focus Wednesday will be on the governor's plan to trim Medicaid spending. Quinn is pushing for a $2.7 billion cut, but he is not saying how that may happen. Southern Illinois looks to take a beating in Quinn's budget. In addition to Tamms, Quinn is proposing to close the youth camp in Murphyboro, the Murray Developmental Center in Centralia as well as the Department of Agriculture's animal welfare lab in Centralia, the Illinois State Police crime lab in Carbondale, and consolidate all state police communication centers in southern Illinois into one headquarters in DuQuoin. |
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