MADISON, Wis. (AP/WBAY) — Wisconsin’s second-oldest prison, built in the 1800s and long targeted for closure, would finally be shuttered under a new plan from Gov. Tony Evers that proposes sweeping changes to the state’s troubled correctional system without building a new facility, as some lawmakers have long called for.
Evers presented his plan as the best and only option to address the state’s aging facilities, which have been beset with deaths of incarcerated people, assaults against staff including one that left a juvenile guard dead, lockdowns, lawsuits, federal investigations, criminal charges against prison staff, resignations and rising maintenance costs.
The roughly $500 million proposal, made public on Sunday, would be subject to approval by the Republican-controlled Legislature, which has backed some aspects in the past but also has repeatedly blocked initiatives by the Democratic governor.
The Village of Allouez released the following statement from Village President Jim Rafter on Governor Evers’ proposed plan to close Green Bay Correctional Institution:
“There is finally a light at the end of the tunnel. I applaud Gov. Evers for putting forward an initial plan that includes a path to close Green Bay Correctional Institution (GBCI). The bipartisan coalition of Republicans and Democrats pushing for closure continues to grow. While this is just the first step in the process, I am hopeful we can all come together and find a consensus to do what has needed to be done for years.
“GBCI is dangerous. Guards have been brutally assaulted. Inmates have been attacked and killed. It is not safe for our community. Madison owes it to the taxpayers of Wisconsin to finish this process and close GBCI once and for all. Today marks a positive step forward in that journey.”
District 30 Senator Jamie Wall released a statement on Sunday morning, saying: “The governor’s proposal to close the Green Bay Correctional Institution is part of a larger plan to reform the Department of Corrections which will save taxpayer dollars and improve public safety.
My dad worked at GBCI for 34 years. My first priority will be to make sure that the people who work there now have the support they need as they transition to new jobs at the Department of Corrections or elsewhere.
I will also work with the Village of Allouez to redevelop the prison site to provide new housing our community needs.”
88th Assembly District Representative Benjamin Franklin also released a statement on Sunday, saying: “For nearly a decade, local and state officials have been advocating for prison updates and the closure of GBCI, I am glad to see Governor Evers acknowledge the need to get this done. I met with Governor Evers shortly after being sworn-in, and we both thoroughly agreed GBCI needs to be addressed, I look forward to reviewing the Governors’ plan on corrections reform. My number one priority is ensuring the safety and well-being of our correctional staff, those incarcerated and our community members. I look forward to working with local and state officials.”
Evers cast the proposal as a better option than building a new adult prison that he said would take at least a decade to complete and cost more than $1.3 billion.
“This plan is as good as plans get,” Evers said at a Friday briefing while encouraging Democrats and Republicans to work together to enact it. “We have to get this done, period.”
The state’s current trajectory of maintaining aging, overcrowded and understaffed prisons is not sustainable, Evers said.
The multi-tiered plan starts with finally closing the troubled Lincoln Hills and Cooper Lake juvenile correctional facilities in northern Wisconsin and building a new one near Madison at the site of a current minimum security prison. The Lincoln Hills campus would then be converted into a medium security adult prison. The prison in Green Bay, built in 1898, would be closed.
The plan also proposes that the state’s oldest prison in Waupun, built in 1851, be converted from a maximum security prison to a medium security center focused on vocational training. The Stanley Correctional Center would be converted from a medium to a maximum security prison and the prison in Hobart would be expanded to add 200 minimum security beds.
Another key part of the plan is expanding options for those convicted of nonviolent offenses to participate in the earned release program and be set free earlier.
All of the changes would take place over the next six years.
Republicans and Democrats alike have been calling for years to close both the prisons in Waupun and Green Bay. But concerns over job losses in the communities and the cost of building a new prison have been stumbling blocks.
There would be no staff layoffs under the new plan, the Evers administration said.
Evers said he hoped lawmakers would come together and support the plan, much like they did in 2017 when they agreed to close the Lincoln Hills juvenile prison. Eight years later, that prison remains open amid obstacles to fully implementing the closure plan.
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