By Cynthia Grau/WJEZ News
State Senator Jason Barickman invited lawmakers and local officials to tour the Pontiac Correctional Center Monday morning.
Barickman said he continued this tradition, started by former State Senator Dan Rutherford.
“I think this is an opportunity to see first-hand the inside of our facility. I think it’s an important perspective for my colleagues to have because we vote on a lot of things that impact the prison, the inmates and, of course, the guards who are there doing a job on behalf of the state,” Barickman said.
District 76 State Representative Jerry Long of South Streator, said though this is his first visit to the prison, he had it on his mind while working on new legislation.
“What I’d like to see is how cooperative the prison inmates are with the establishment or the prison itself. I do have a piece of legislation out there that is about truth in sentencing. I want to make sure our inmates are doing their full time, and when they’re coming out, give them opportunities to get back into the workforce. I’d like to see exactly how they operate and how respectful they are to one another and that’s exactly what I want to look at,” Long said.
State Representative Tom Bennett said he knows of some critical legislation in the House right now that would help with the safety of correctional officers.
“There’s a number of bills that are in the house and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some in the senate. One thing I’m trying to focus on is more safety for correctional officers and I know there’s interest in reducing the overall prison population, and I understand that. Let’s make sure we’re doing the right things – protecting the correctional officers. To me that’s critical, it really is,” Bennett said.
