April 6, 2009 – Illinois lawmakers’ attempts to pass legislation that would outline how Tamms Correctional Center is governed continued to face opposition from State Department and union leaders last week.
Critics said the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) should have “full discretion” over administrative changes regarding the super-maximum prison.
House Bill 2633, introduced by Rep. Julie Hamos (D-Evanston), would mandate which inmates can transferred in and out of the facility and limits incarceration to a year. It also prevents inmates with a serious mental illnesses being transferred to Tamms.
“I don’t think that there is a need for legislation. I’m not saying there is not a need for some changes but I don’t think we need legislation to address it,” said Rep. Jim Sacia (R-Freeport).
Sacia, who has visited the prison, said, “The biggest struggle I have is the advocates of the bill will say over and over that these people are in isolation. That is absolutely incorrect. They are in segregation. And there is a huge, huge difference in my mind.”
Rep. Eddie Washington (D-Waukegan), a co-sponsor, called Tamms a “facility that is the worst of the worst.” Washington said “political leverage” is being used to make proponents seem like they are soft on crime or close Tamms.
International and national advocates say the isolation endured by inmates fosters mental illness, and no evidence has shown Tamms to be a real deterrent in controlling prison violence. They also claim the current IDOC rules are too vague for how inmates are imprisoned at Tamms.
“We feel like we should be the ones who determine who should be there and how long they should be there,” said Illinois Department of Corrections spokesman Derek Schnapps. He said IDOC knows the “offender population better than anyone.”
Schnapps said IDOC is working with lawmakers and the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Council 31 over concerns they have with the bill. Schnapps said one concern for the IDOC is the one-year limit for prisoners placed at Tamms.
AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall said the bill’s language has raised concerns over safe guards for prison employees.
“We do have concerns about possible unintended consequences that might harm the ability of the system to respond to violent incidents… and to most safely incarcerate the most dangerous, violent uncontrollable inmates,” said Lindall. “We are not opposed to changes to the system, specifically with regards to Tamms.”
Super-maximum prisons were created in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s as a part of “tough on crime” wave. They were designed as a way to manage the most dangerous inmates with minimal contact while maximizing the safety of prison officials.
Located in southern Illinois, Tamms currently holds 250 prisoners deemed to be to the “worst of the worst” by the IDOC.
Darrell Cannon describes the facility as “designed to break you mentally, physically as well as spiritually.”
For 23 hours a day, Cannon was confined to his 7-foot by 12-foot cell at Tamms. His furnishings were a one-piece concrete construction with a stainless steel toilet and sink. He was allowed one hour in the exercise pen where he was observed by prison officers but never in contact with other prisoners. Cannons was allowed to have a radio and black and white television but never contact with other human beings.
Two-thirds of the inmates at Tamms have been transferred under what is called an “administrative discipline” where it was determined by prison officials that an inmate was a gang leader or apt to create a violent disruption to the prison atmosphere.
Cannon would be held under an “administrative discipline” at Tamms for nine years.
“This bill is crucial,” said Cannon who has testified in Springfield. “You know it’s easy for the politicians and wardens to say ‘No, no, no, we’re very humane in how we treat prisoners down here,’” said Cannon. “There’s nothing humane about Tamms. Nothing.”
Hamos’ spokesperson Angie Lobo said the IDOC’s definition of Tamms holding “the worst of the worst” is a “red herring”
“I don’t think that’s a strong enough criteria for keeping someone in such extreme isolation for over a decade,” said Lobo.
Lobo said the bill would restore Tamms to its original intent, “not warehouse people there for a decade.”
In 2008, members of Tamms Year Ten testified before the prison reform committee about conditions for inmates at Tamms. This prompted Hamos to draft legislation.
Laurie Jo Reynolds, an organizer with Tamms who was in Springfield last week to meet with Hamos, said the IDOC’s lack of transparency with the prison committees’ questions about Tamms’ bureaucracy is an indicator for change.
“I would say you’ve had 11 years to create clear criteria in your own administrative code and you’ve shown that you’re not interested in doing that,” said Reynolds.
Within a decade, one-third of Tamms’ inmates will be paroled.
Currently, 800 people in Illinois have signed an online petition for the bill’s passage. Reynolds said new discussions could happen in May but it’s been a slow process.
“This bill is necessary to save lives,” said Cannon.