A state arbitrator has stymied Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn’s plan to close two prisons, saying that state officials must first properly negotiate with union representatives about the impact of the closures, reports The Associated Press.
The governor wanted the prisons closed by late October, but Arbitrator Steven Bierig found prison officials violated its contract with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, reports the AP.
The governor’s communications director said the decision is being appealed.
State lawmakers disagreed with the prison closures and set aside money in the budget to keep them open. Quinn vetoed the budget, saying the state could not afford the prisons’ operating cost.
When corrections officials began moving prisoners out of the Tamms facility to the Pontiac Correctional Center in August, union officials filed a lawsuit asking the judge to declare the arbitrator’s decision binding and order the state to comply, according to the AP.
The union’s executive director said the Legislature funded the prisons because they recognized closing the prisons would “destabilize the entire prison system, worsen dangerous overcrowding and put the safety of employees, inmates, youth and the public at risk.”
The union has since filed another lawsuit claiming that mixing prisoners they deem dangerous with other prisoners, coupled with the overcrowding, would violate a health and safety clause in the union contract.
