Full Text of HR0233 99th General Assembly
HR0233 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The Tamms Correctional Center opened in 1995 in | 3 | | Tamms, Alexander County as a
200-bed minimum-security prison; | 4 | | in 1998, it expanded, adding a 500-bed super-maximum-security | 5 | | facility, designed to hold the most dangerous and violent male
| 6 | | prisoners in the State; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, The Tamms Correctional Center was in operation as | 8 | | a super-maximum-security prison
from 1998 until its closure in | 9 | | January of 2013; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Prior to the opening of the Tamms Correctional | 11 | | Center, dangerous and violent inmates
could strengthen their | 12 | | power and still run criminal organizations from prison through | 13 | | prison
gangs and networks across the State correctional system; | 14 | | and | 15 | | WHEREAS, Some of the most violent and disruptive inmates | 16 | | would commit transgressions
against correctional staff until | 17 | | it became severe enough for the inmate to be transferred to a
| 18 | | new correctional facility; once at the new facility these | 19 | | transgressions would continue forcing the
new correctional | 20 | | facility to again transfer the inmate; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, The continued disruptive actions by an inmate in |
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| 1 | | order to be repeatedly transferred to new
facilities became | 2 | | known as "riding the correctional circuit"; inmates would do | 3 | | this in an attempt to
eventually be transferred to the facility | 4 | | that they desired in order to strengthen their power within | 5 | | prison gangs
and increase their network; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, The opening of the Tamms Correctional Center | 7 | | helped put an end to prisoners
riding the correctional circuit; | 8 | | after the opening, when inmates would continue to lash out
| 9 | | against correctional officers and other inmates after being | 10 | | transferred, they would then be sent to Tamms until the violent | 11 | | behavior ceased; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, The opening of the Tamms Correctional Center also | 13 | | helped increase safety at all correctional centers across the | 14 | | State because the most violent and disruptive inmates were
| 15 | | isolated; this helped to reduce major incidents at prisons, | 16 | | reduce the number of lockdowns,
and greatly improve the safety | 17 | | of the staff working at the correctional centers; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Following the closure of the Tamms Correctional | 19 | | Center in January of 2013, the inmates
were transferred to | 20 | | maximum security prisons; this put a strain on the already | 21 | | overly crowded
State correctional system; with the | 22 | | maximum-security prisons taking in more inmates, many of
their | 23 | | existing inmates were then transferred to lower-security |
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| 1 | | facilities; this trend rippled through the State system; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, Currently, the State correctional system holds | 3 | | around 49,000 inmates, however the
facilities that are open are | 4 | | designed to hold around 32,000 inmates; with the State's | 5 | | prisons being
so drastically over crowded, staff and inmate | 6 | | safety has again become a major cause of concern; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, The current levels of inmates in the overly | 8 | | crowded State correctional system has
caused major concern for | 9 | | the safety of staff working in the prisons; at Pickneyville | 10 | | Correctional
Center on September 25, 2013, inmate Rodolfo Rosas | 11 | | attacked 3 male guards and one female guard; they were taken to | 12 | | an area hospital and treated for various injuries, including a | 13 | | broken nose; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Overcrowded correctional facilities are not just | 15 | | a safety problem for staff but also
create a dangerous | 16 | | atmosphere for other inmates; since the closure of the Tamms | 17 | | Correctional Center, other
facilities having to deal with the | 18 | | over-population issue have resorted to moving hundreds of | 19 | | inmates into
a gymnasium as cells have become too crowded; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Incidents of violent fights between inmates have | 21 | | increased since the closure of
the Tamms Correctional Center | 22 | | because the current correctional system is having difficulty |
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| 1 | | handling the
over-populated prisons; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, If the State of Illinois would reopen the Tamms | 3 | | Correctional Center it could help
increase safety inside the | 4 | | State's correctional centers for both the staff and inmates; | 5 | | the
reopening of Tamms would also greatly help to reduce the | 6 | | strain over the State's
over-populated correctional centers; | 7 | | and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, The Tamms Correctional Center should be reopened | 9 | | in order to ensure the best outcomes for inmates and staff in | 10 | | helping to keep people safe and in helping aid in | 11 | | rehabilitation; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, An adult administrative segregation unit can help | 13 | | to separate gang activity and
gang leaders and help to deter | 14 | | future violent and dangerous behavior from inmates; therefore, | 15 | | be it
| 16 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 17 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 18 | | urge Governor Rauner to reopen the Tamms Correctional Center as | 19 | | a new adult administrative segregation unit, to help control | 20 | | the over-crowding in the State's correction system and to | 21 | | ensure the safety of correctional staff and inmates; and be it | 22 | | further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 2 | | delivered to Governor Rauner and the Director of the Illinois | 3 | | Department of Corrections.
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