Stateville prison workers stage strikes demanding “No chaos, no layoffs!”

Stateville Correctional Center staff say the looming closure of the prison and the abrupt transfer of Stateville inmates have thrown the prison system into disarray and put their jobs in jeopardy. “No chaos, no layoffs,” Stateville employees will demonstrate outside the prison near Joliet on Thursday, August 29.

In response to a court order, the Illinois Department of Corrections has begun hastily transferring Stateville inmates to facilities up to 300 miles away. The transfers will cut inmates off from their educational, employment and rehabilitation programs and make family visits from the Chicago area difficult.

Hundreds of Stateville employees are at risk of being laid off, and the safety of thousands more employees is at risk in the prisons that currently house Stateville's inmates.

Employees of Stateville and other prisons, their supporters, elected officials and leaders of their union AFSCME will strike and demonstrate outside the Crest Hill prison at 4 p.m. today to call for “No Chaos, No Firing.”

IDOC has proposed closing Stateville – a maximum security prison with over 400 inmates – for an indefinite period of at least three to five years while a new facility is built at the same site.

Statevile employees and their union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), believe the current facility should remain open while a new facility is being built to minimize disruption to inmates, staff and the state prison system as a whole.

Press release