| Speaking Out Against For-Profit-Prisons: Making Money Off a Broken Immigration System
by Sister Juanita Ujcik, OSF
The July 29th Southtown Star has an article stating that Corrections Corporation of America is considering building a For-Profit-Prison in Crete, Will County, Illinois. They plan to bid for a contract with Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE).
I was horrified to hear this. As Chair of the National Convocation of Jail and Prison Ministers for six years and a member for more than 20 years, I have traveled around the country for the yearly meetings and am aware of the Issues related to For-Profit-Prisons. One year, our entire focus was on the problems generated by such businesses.
The Corrections Corporation of America is one company that has a very poor track record in this area. Many law suits are pending because of their modus operandi. What they say and what they do is not always consistent. I must admit however that as far as I have seen their main concern is for profit and not for the care of prisoners, not about the impact they have on the communities in which they are located and even not for their own employees who are poorly paid and sometimes unfairly treated. They also bid for projects and it is later shown they are the only bidders. Is this because they have already made arrangements with the districts and organizations involved prior to the process?
By statute, Illinois has a moratorium on the building of prisons and has empty space in its institutions. Why doesn't ICE rent space in these institutions. (ICE may pay less in For-Profit-Institutions because some of the state regulations for the care of inmates are not followed, etc.). Why are these For-Profit-Institutions allowed to build?
There is a promise of jobs. Yes, there will be jobs. You can be fairly certain that the top paying jobs and administrative positions will be coming from inside their own organization. The jobs that are left will be very low paying, non skilled jobs. How complete is the training, if any, they require for those working in correctional positions with residents? Do they have the protection of a union? I suspect not-for-profits prefer non-union members. This means that their level of professionalism my not be as high as for those working in union positions where advancement is related to education, training and job performance.
I certainly hope no tax brakes are given. Crete must considered the impact on utilities, infrastructure and city services. This type of large institution has huge needs for water, sewer, road use, Fire Protection and inspection, and external Security. Regular food services and health services inspections are also needed as For Profits have been known to provide poor services in these areas. These costs will not be off-set by the income taxes, etc. from the small number of jobs created. It may be wise to contact other cities (several in Indiana) in which this company operates to determine the positive and negative impacts they have experienced.
CCA indicates that they are building this facility for ICE. They will have a security level for containment, not for incarceration. We are all aware of the focus on Immigration at this time. If the system is changed drastically, or even hold fewer people for a shorter time, the dynamic of this system may change. Given a need to keep these spaces filled for the profit, what is to stop them from getting criminal inmates from other states to fill those spaces. A number of years ago in Youngstown, Ohio, a medium security For-profit contracted with New York to take their criminal prisoners who were maximum security. The result was serious security issues for the area and safety issues for the employees and other inmates.
Since the final cost of this institution rests on the cost of building, providing special inspections by a prison construction expert to determine the construction is adequate, at various points in its time-line would be wise. Unfortunately, some For Profit institutions such as this keep their eyes on the bottom line and not on the construction.
Why has the publicity about this project been so minimal?
I will admit, my personal reason for the objection to this facility is a moral one. Many of the people held by this system have NO recourse and most are NOT criminals. The conditions under which they are held are often much worse than those prisons holding criminals in our country. They are disconnected from lawyers, consulates and families for a number of reasons. They often do not understand English and have no translators available for the many different languages. Immigration issues are extremely complex. Who in Crete can service this? The Facility is responsible for housing who is responsible for the care of these people? This Justice Issue is large and complicated.
Please do what you can to prevent this atrocity from invading our county and our state.
You may contact the Will County Board or your local state representative.
Sr. Juanita Ujcik OSF has worked in corrections for about 25 years as director of the Center for Correctional Concerns in the Will County Adult Detention Facility .She attended the monthly department head meetings, participated in Accreditation, and was informed on issues related to the function of the entire Facility. Sister Juanita is a member of the Diocese of Joliet Restorative Justice Commission and a recipient of the Pax Joliet Award.
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