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| Quinn Names New Prisons Chief |
Illinois' new prisons chief is originally from Illinois. Gov. Pat Quinn announced Thursday that he's bringing in Michael Randle, the assistant director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, to replace Roger Walker as the director of the Illinois Department of Corrections. Randle lived in Chicago for part of his childhood, before his family moved to Ohio.
Randle is walking into a mess. The prison workers' union, AFSCME, has been complaining for years that prison guards are forced to work too much overtime to prevent hiring additional guards. Randle says overtime is inherent in prison work, since prisons don't take holidays and no unit can be left short-staffed due to illness. But he does say forcing guards to work 20-hour shifts "over and over and over" will lead to guards who aren't alert.
Another big problem has to do with the super-maximum security prison Tamms, in Alexander County. Critics say consistent solitary confinement is bad for inmates who are mentally ill, or who will someday be released. Randle says he'll listen to the critics and visit the prison. Quinn says he'll let Randle make the decision on what to do about Tamms.
Quinn asserts that the ousting of prisons chief Roger Walker is largely due to Walker's health problems, and says it’s possible that Walker could take another job in the system. Quinn says he's not trying to hire folks from out-of-state, but that he's just looking for the best people.
(Illinois Radio Network) |
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| 05 14 09 by Newsroom |
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