Save Our Prison!

When residents of Vandalia, Ill., (total population: 6,975) learned that Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) was going to shut down their city's minimum-security prison as a cost-cutting measure, they vowed not to accept the action without protest.

So, one cold morning in March, 6,000 people from the community came out of their homes and filled four blocks of downtown's Gallatin Street in order to have their picture taken.

Billed as "Save Vandalia Correctional Center [VCC] Photo Day," the massive rally was organized by COs (members of Local 993 of Council 31), community leaders and city officials led by the mayor himself. Enlarged photos of the event were delivered to Blagojevich and legislators to drive home the point.

Russ Stunkel, a CO for 8 years, is particularly proud of the many benefits the facility provides. "We have about 400 inmates who are part of work crews that regularly maintain our parks," he says. "The community also relies on them for disaster-relief services. So this workcamp is a real boon to Vandalia."

The inmates, in turn, learn new trades and participate in skills development programs. "We are preparing them for when they go back to society and become better citizens," Stunkel adds. "In Vandalia, we have the lowest recidivism rate and the fewest inmate-to-inmate assaults in the whole state." VCC is also well-maintained and efficiently run.

Of the 525 people employed at the center, 95 percent are AFSCME members. Most of them reside in Vandalia. If the plan goes through, most of the workers will be out of a job. That's a big number in a small city whose unemployment rate already stands at 8.9 percent.

"There's more at stake here than saving the state millions of dollars," declares Steven Sipes, a CO for 14 years. "The VCC is a vital part of this community, and we're determined to fight together for a common cause."

To further demonstrate local resolve to save the prison, activists chartered five buses to Springfield and flooded the state Capitol to rally and lobby legislators. The presiding judge in the 16th Circuit Court juvenile division has spoken out publicly against the closure plan. And parents of youth incarcerated at the facility have voiced their strong opposition as well."