Jobs, economy are big attractions for prison construction proje

Prisons and juvenile facilities in both Missouri and Illinois provide a boost to local economies in the areas where they operate.

The prisons and juvenile facilities provide more than 15,000 jobs in Illinois.

The Missouri Department of Corrections employs more than 8,000 people, and that number will go up when the new Charleston Prison is expected to open. A dedication is planned for Sept. 21.

The 1,600-bed Charleston facility will cost an estimated $20 million a year to operate and will employabout 450 workers. Another facility is under construction at Bonne Terre, Mo.

Missouri has more than 20 prison facilities, and when the two new prisons open, the Department of Corrections will have enough beds for 31,834 inmates, more than double the 1991 statewide capacity of 15,125 beds.

Illinois has more than 30 facilities, including the state's "Super Max,' at Tamms, which opened in 1998.

The Tamms facility, including an adjoining work camp, provides jobs for 428 workers.

Jobs and economy have been the big attraction for prison construction in Illinois.

And, when a prison facility is announced as many 35 communities put in their bid. Thirty-two bid for the Super Max at Tamms and 29 areas submitted bids for a prison which was constructed at Pinckneyville. Another 25 communities bid for a 1,600-bed prison, which was awarded to Savannah, Ill.

From initial construction to payroll, the state's prison system means money to communities, whether in Illinois or Missouri.

More than a dozen of these facilities are in the lower 12 counties of Illinois. Also located in the immediate Southern Illinois area is a private prison at Ullin in Pulaski County. The $7.5 million, 200-bed, Tri-County Detention and Justice Center along Interstate 57 near Ullin, houses prisoners from Alexander, Pulaski and Union counties. The private facility houses up 216 prisoners, and employs about 50 workers.

Prisons are a positive thing for a community, says Nic Howell, a public affairs spokesman for the Illinois Department of Corrections. Prisons look for the same factors as an industry or business.

Prisons use local banks for employee benefits and local agencies for various services and products used at the prison.

Schools and other tax-supported entities may see tax revenues increase as the tax base broadens.

Department of Corrections officials want to know they are wanted in a community. They also want to know if a community doesn't want a prison.

In the case of the Super Max at Tamms, some officials and residents have expressed disappointment recently that the prison has not created a "boom" town.

But, the prison has resulted in the $17 million payroll boost to the area economy.

When the Tamms facility opened, about 100 of the starting employees were transfers from other prisons. But, there were more than 300 "new hires," all from the lower four or five counties of Southern Illinois, and over half of the employees are from Alexander, Union and Pulaski counties.

rowen@semissourian.com

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