5 state prisons locked down in a week for violence

SPRINGFIELD — Five Illinois prisons have been locked down in the past week because of a spike in violence.

The Springfield bureau of Lee Enterprises newspapers reports the incidents involved either full or partial lockdowns at the prisons.

Illinois Department of Corrections spokesman Tom Shaer says authorities don’t believe any of the violence was related. He says no employees were seriously injured.

Menard Correctional Center in Chester was locked down for 39 hours last week after an inmate struck a guard at the maximum-security facility.

Other incidents included a fight during a soccer game at the medium-security Pickneyville Correctional Center and a weekend brawl on a basketball court in a medium-security unit at the Pontiac Correctional Center.