ELIZABETHTOWN, Ill. (AP) — Gov. Bruce Rauner’s cost-cutting proposal to shut down a minimum-security work camp in southern Illinois is drawing fire from prison workers, local politicians and some residents.
Opponents of the proposed Hardin County Work Camp closing testified Monday before the state Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.
The panel of state lawmakers can only make a non-binding recommendation to Rauner.
The Republican governor announced the planned shutdown and several others in early June amid a budget stalemate with majority Democratic legislators. That deadlock continues nearly one month into a new fiscal year without a spending plan.
The state Department of Corrections says about 60 workers at the prison camp would be offered jobs at two other southern Illinois prisons. However, local supporters say the closing’s economic impact would be considerable.