SPRINGFIELD - American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is trying to build public pressure on Quinn to drop his plans for closing the "supermax" prison at Tamms and a women's facility in Dwight, Associated Press' Christopher Wills reports after Thursday's press conference in Springfield.
Union members recounted incident after incident — fights between inmates, prisoners attacking guards, more weapons being discovered, gangs growing bolder.
"The governor has lit the fuse on a powder keg, and he's not going to be around for the explosion. We are," said Jake Dalton, a sergeant at Pontiac Correctional Center.
The governor's office denied its plans will increase the danger for prison staff.
"To indicate there is a correlation between prison closures and the number of assaults is simply false," Quinn spokeswoman Kelly Kraft said in a statement.
