Judge keeps alive union's bid to save Vienna prison

VIENNA, Ill. -- A Johnson County judge has kept alive a union's attempt to save the Vienna Correctional Center from the budget ax, but the union is far from victory in the case.

Without commenting, Judge James R. Williamson on Monday denied the state's motion to dismiss a lawsuit by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The judge scheduled a bench trial for next Monday.

The union argues that Gov. George Ryan is violating the state constitution by trying to close the minimum-security prison by May 15 because the General Assembly funded it until the end of the fiscal year on June 30.

They hope to keep the 37-year-old, minimum-security prison open long enough to lobby legislators in Springfield to fund it permanently.

Ryan says he needs to close it early to save more money. The governor is in the midst of tough negotiations with the General Assembly over the state's burgeoning budget problems, which include an expected $1.2 billion deficit next year.

The governor's office estimates closing the prison would save about $22 million, but it would also leave about 350 people jobless in the far southern tip of the state, one of Illinois' poorest regions.

Prison guards, many still in uniform, packed the courtroom and listened silently as Assistant Attorney General Karen McNaught argued that the governor has the authority to make such cuts, whether they were popular or not.

"It may not be the choice the court would make, the choice the attorney general would make or I would make, but we each have our jobs to do," McNaught said.

"The governor has the discretion to do what's best for the entire state of Illinois, not what's best for one community," she said.

Tough fight ahead

Buddy Maupin, the union's regional director for Southern Illinois, said the group still has a tough fight ahead.

"This isn't a victory," Maupin told reporters after the hearing.

"We have no illusions the court can do anything for us after June 30."

The governor says closing the Vienna prison, as well as the Valley View detention center in St. Charles and a mental health center in Zeller, will save much-needed money.

Ryan also wants to close Valley View on May 15. The union's lawsuit to save it was struck down by a Cook County judge earlier, and an appeal is pending, said union attorney Stephen Yokich.

Joyce Langston, 64, attended Monday's hearing to represent her son, who was on duty as a guard at the Vienna prison. Her husband, Gerald, worked for 30 years for the Department of Corrections before retiring.

"I'm so happy," Langston said as she filed out of the courtroom. "All we wanted was to buy time, and we did that."