ILL Group Wants Dwight Prison Kept Open

Enlarge image

Credit wikipedia.org

A prison watchdog group is asking Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to reconsider plans to close the Dwight women's prison.

John Howard Association executive director John Maki  says Dwight is the state's only maximum-security prison for women. He says the facility has been successful in hiring female correctional officers and training staff to handle a population that overwhelmingly comes from backgrounds of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Quinn wants Dwight closed to save money. He closed the Tamms super-security prison earlier this year along with several juvenile detention centers. Maki pointed out the John Howard Association supported those closures.