COMMUNITIES IN ILLINOIS MAKE PITCH FOR PRISON

ANNA, Ill. -- Eleven Southern Illinois communities, including the Southern Illinois Prison Committee (SIPC) that includes five counties, will deliver sales pitches to Illinois Department of Corrections officials for a new $60 million state prison Thursday.

Thursday's public hearing, to be held at Rend Lake Community College in Ina, will get under way at 8:30 a.m. SIPC will make its presentation at 2:30 p.m.

SIPC members are urging residents and community leaders of the five-county Union, Alexander, Pulaski, Massac and Johnson area to show their support by attending the meeting, which is open to the public.

Plans for the new prison started developing about the same time that two large businesses a shoe factory and Bunny Bread Bakery closed at Anna in Union County, resulting in the loss of more than 450 area jobs, forcing the unemployment rate in Union County to 17 percent.

"We need jobs in Southern Illinois," said a spokesman for the SIPC. The average unemployment of the five counties involved is more than 14 percent, led by Pulaski and Alexander counties at 18.9 and 17.3 percent respectively. Massac County, which has hovered between 11.5 and 13 percent, is now the only one of the five counties under double figures, at 9.5 percent in July. Union reports 14 percent and Johnson County 11.2 percent unemployment.

Following regional hearings, the list of 31 applicants will be pared to about six, with final hearings to be held later in October.

Prison officials opened the first regional meeting Monday at Springfield. A second hearing was held at Canton Tuesday. Twelve applications are from the Central Illinois area, and eight from Northern Illinois.

"We're looking at a number of things," said Nic Howell, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections. "We need 80 acres of flat land easily accessible to roads, with water, sewer and electric availability. The site cannot be located in a flood zone."

Howell said another factor would be public attitude.

"We want to be located in an area that wants us," he said.

Corrections Director Howard Peters has said he wants to make a recommendation to Gov. Jim Edgar by Oct. 15.

The prison is intended to help reduce crowding problems at the 25 state prisons where about 33,500 inmates are being held in prisons designed for 22,500.

The new prison would house 500 of Illinois' most violent-prone inmates. The prison would provide about 300 new jobs with a payroll of about $11 million.

More than 40 inquiries were received by the Department of Corrections, but only 32 communities made application and one of them withdrew last week, leaving a final list of 31.

The prison was authorized by the Illinois General Assembly

Southern Illinois applicants include the counties of Jackson, Lawrence, Randolph, Saline, Williamson, Wayne and White. Applications also were received from DuQuoin in Perry County, Benton in Franklin County, Marissa in St. Clair County, and Anna (SIPC).