Stateville prison to be demolished and rebuilt, Gov. Pritzker announces

The state plans to demolish and rebuild Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill, Gov. JB Pritzker announced Friday.

Pritzker announced a plan to rebuild both Stateville and Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln over the next three to five years. The project involves the temporary closure of both prisons.

“Based on assessments of each facility and land availability, it is anticipated that Stateville will be temporarily closed and demolished, with a new facility to be built on its grounds,” according the news release from the governor’s office.

The governor’s proposed 2025 capital budget includes $900 million to demolish and rebuild both prisons, according to the release.

“The capital funds dedicated to Stateville and Logan further demonstrate our commitment to continuing to rebuild and strengthen our state’s infrastructure,” Pritzker said in the release. “These investments will allow staff to work in modern and safe facilities, ensure those who are incarcerated can safely serve out their sentences, and save taxpayers hundreds of millions in deferred maintenance costs from years of neglect.”

Crest Hill Mayor Ray Soliman issued a statement saying that the Stateville plan should lead to an expanded facility and ensure its future in the city.

“We are optimistic that these improvements and new facility could produce economic development on some of the surrounding properties,” Soliman said. “We are also optimistic that this announcement will end the speculation and uncertainty of the future of this prison site.”

Soliman said Crest Hill officials were notified of the plan Thursday afternoon.

“While the state has not yet finalized its plans for the Stateville facility, it has made it clear it is committed to working closely with all stakeholders that will be impacted by this potential project, including the city of Crest Hill,” Soliman said. “The city of Crest Hill looks forward to learning more details about the planned new, state-of-the-art Stateville Correctional Center, and collaborating with the Department of Corrections to ensure local concerns are effectively addressed, and the overall Stateville site is improved and enhanced in conjunction with this project.”

Stateville opened in 1925. Speculation about its future has dogged the prison for at least 16 years. Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2008 proposed closing Stateville but did not follow through on the plan.

In 2016, Gov. Bruce Rauner closed F House at Stateville. F House held 348 inmates who were moved elsewhere. The roundhouse, a circular building with cells around the perimeter and guard stations in the center, was the last of its kind in the U.S., the Illinois Department of Corrections noted when announcing its closure.

The Stateville complex now holds 1,927 inmates, according to the DOC website.

But only 453 are in Stateville Correctional Center. The Northern Reception and Classification Center, a newer facility built in 2004 outside Stateville’s stone walls, has an inmate population of 1,312. Another 162 inmates are in the Stateville minimum security unit, which opened in 2003.

The closing of F House was applauded by prison reform advocates. The John Howard Association called the roundhouse not fit for human habitation.

State Sen. Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet, issued a statement Friday calling for the rebuilt Stateville to be designed to improve conditions for workers as well as inmates and their families who visit.

“The quality of life at the Stateville prison is beyond repair,” Ventura said. “It’s imperative we build a new facility, but we must do so in a way that takes into account the needs of its residents, their loved ones and workers.”

Ventura said the transition to a new Stateville facility should be done in a way that safeguards jobs at the prison.

The demolition and rebuild of Stateville would mark the last major transition of the three prisons that have had a big presence in the Joliet area since the mid-19th century.

The state closed the Joliet Correctional Center, the oldest of the three facilities, in 2002. The prison was left unmaintained and falling into disrepair for years before the city of Joliet worked out a lease so it could clean up the property and put it to use.

The Joliet Area Historical Museum now manages the property, which has been renamed the Old Joliet Prison and provides tours and stages events.

The lesser-known Illinois Youth Center, an incarceration facility for juveniles on McDonough Street in Joliet, was closed in 2013. But the Department of Corrections reopened it four years later while building a new facility to house the Joliet Treatment Center, which provides mental health services to inmates from prisons throughout Illinois.