While prison reform supporters say the announced closure of a juvenile detention center is a good step to addressing Illinois corrections problems, leaders in Kewanee expect to feel it from multiple directions.

Kewanee City Manager Gary Bradley says it’s hard telling what kind of impact the slated closure of a juvenile detention center in the rural northwestern town will have.

Bradley also says if some of the good paying jobs that require a bachelor’s degree are gone, there could be a brain drain from the community.

Friday the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice announced the closure of their facility in Kewanee, something expected this summer. The ACLU says the closure is a positive step in addressing concerns from a consent decree about juvenile justice reform.

In other State news, a new bill seeks to ban drones from flying near prisons.

The bill sponsored by Sen. Tim Bivins would prevent inmates from getting their hands on drugs, guns and other contraband, by prohibiting drones from flying near prison yards altogether.

The bill proposes a punishment of an additional year added to an inmate’s sentence if they are caught smuggling in contraband. The bill would also charge individuals who intentionally fly drones over prisons with a misdemeanor. Nicole Wilson, spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Corrections, said the department has not experienced contraband being introduced to its properties by drone, but that they are taking a proactive approach to ensure such breaches do not occur. Senate Bill 2344 has been assigned to the Criminal Law Committee and is expected to be brought up in the coming weeks.