PLANS ARE SET TO CONSTRUCT 200-BED PRIVATE PRISON IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

ULLIN, Ill. -- Construction of a $7 million, 200-bed, regional prison facility is expected to start near here early this fall.

"We have tentatively set Sept. 4 as a groundbreaking date and will start building the next day," said Wesley Box, a managing partner of Western Corrections Inc., a private prison company headquartered in Albuquerque, N.M.

"We should start moving prisoners into the new facility by October of 1998," said Box.

The new facility will be located about 150 yards Southwest of the Illinois State Highway Patrol District 22 Headquarters, near the Interstate 57/Ullin Exchange (Mile 18).

Western Corrections Group got the final go-ahead recently when Alexander County signed an agreement to use the facility.

"We had to have agreements from the three Southern Illinois counties which will be utilizing the facility," said Box.

Box will be in Southern Illinois later this month to arrange final details for construction. "We have a lot of meetings set up in the area this month," said Box.

The general contractor will be selected by the end of August.

Three Southern Illinois counties -- Union, Pulaski and Alexander --have now agreed to use the regional facility to be located in Pulaski County.

The new Tri-County Criminal Justice Center to be financed, constructed and operated by Western Corrections Group will be located on a five-acre tract.

Officials from the three counties have worked together on the facility. They talked with two regional jail companies before approving the design and location of WCG.

Union County was the first to sign the agreement in early February. Pulaski followed suit later, but Alexander waited until last week before agreeing to use the facility.

Pulaski and Union counties do not have county jails and are now paying to send prisoners to other counties. Union County prisoners are being lodged at Jackson County facilities in Murphysboro, and Pulaski County places prisoners in Massac County Jail at Metropolis.

Pulaski County's jail closed in December 1987; Union County's jail closed in October 1994.

Alexander County is in a different position than Union and Pulaski counties. The southernmost county has an operating jail. Although the jail meets all compliances, some repairs are needed for long-term use. By agreeing to utilize the new private jail facility, Alexander County can waive" some of the needed repairs.

The new facility will employ about 60 people.

Employment of local citizens was one of the concerns which delayed Alexander County commissioners from signing the agreement earlier. The contract did not address the distribution of jobs or the division of bed space per county. But in earlier discussions, Western Corrections said that distribution of jobs would be equal in all three counties.

Western Corrections Inc. will recoup its investment through an estimated $50-a-day charge for each inmate sent there by Alexander, Pulaski and Union counties.

Other state and federal prisoners also may be jailed there, the company said.

In addition to prisoner facilities and an infirmary, the complex will include a courtroom, judge's chamber, conference room and offices for prosecutors, public defenders and other court personnel.

The courtroom will be used for pretrial hearings and negotiated pleas. But under Illinois law, jury trials must be conducted in the county where a defendant is charged.

Western Corrections operates 75 other jails across the country, but this is its first project in Illinois. No other privately owned jails operate in Illinois.