Wait for hearing could delay Pontiac closure

VIENNA _ Extra time granted in a lawsuit over the state's plan to close a central Illinois prison may keep the facility open a little longer.

The state on Wednesday requested and got until Jan. 5 to prepare for a hearing in a lawsuit filed by The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the union said. The hearing had been scheduled for Monday.

Pontiac's 137-year-old prison, about 100 miles southwest of Chicago, was originally slated to close in January. But a Johnson County judge had ordered the Department of Corrections to stop moving inmates out of the maximum-security Pontiac Correctional Center until the lawsuit is resolved. Prisoners are moving to lockups that can't handle them, the union says.

The delay should give the state time to reconsider, said AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall.

"If this adds to that opportunity for the governor to deliberate and stop the closure, then that's a good thing," Lindall said.

Corrections spokesman Derek Schnapp referred questions to Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office, which represents the agency.

The office is reviewing the effect of both the Johnson County order, a preliminary injunction and other court orders on the plan to close the prison, said spokeswoman Natalie Bauer.

A judge last week considering one of two other lawsuits filed by the union temporarily blocked the Department of Corrections from laying off workers at the Pontiac prison.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants to close the prison because he says it will save $4 million a year.

The union and officials in Pontiac say the closure is punishment for the governor's political enemies and will rob the town of 570 jobs.

The lawsuit is one of three filed by the union to try to stop the closure.

A judge last week considering another lawsuit temporarily blocked IDOC from laying off workers at the Pontiac prison.

The lawsuit over prisoner movement was filed in Johnson County because the local Vienna Correctional Center is one of the facilities affected by inmates leaving Pontiac.