Budget ax falls on prison in Jackson
1,500 inmates will be shifted to other locations
Gary Heinlein / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
LANSING -- Michigan's Corrections Department plans to close a prison containing four cell blocks with 1,500 prisoners in Jackson, the second substantial cut implemented by Gov. Jennifer Granholm to deal with the state's budget deficit.
The Southern Michigan Correctional Facility will close by July, according to department spokesman Russ Marlan. It's one of five Jackson corrections facilities, containing 7,888 prisoners.
Last week, Michigan State Police officials notified their officers' union they plan to lay off 32 patrol officers as part of the state budget cuts. An unspecified number of State Police civilian employees also may be laid off.
"This is the first step in the governor's recommendation that we reduce our prison population," Marlan said.
He added that additional prison closings can be expected later in the year because Granholm wants to reduce the number of state inmates -- now at an all-time high of more than 51,500 -- by 5,500. The reduction would cut an estimated $92 million of the $1.94 billion annual Corrections budget.
The announcement, first made in an in-house departmental newsletter, surprised Republican Senate leaders, who've been working on alternatives to Granholm's budget plan containing a mixture of cuts and new taxes.
"Closing a prison is not something that's been considered by our caucus as we look at ways to save money," said Matt Marsden, press secretary to Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester.
"We were not aware that this was something that was going to go down."
Bishop and Republican lawmakers, who hold a majority in the Senate, are planning to present their proposals to Granholm this week. They still hope to stave off prison closings through discussions with the governor, he said.
Marlan said the department won't necessarily parole the inmates now housed at the Jackson facility, but rather shift them to other Corrections centers as beds open up.
The governor's plan is to parole about 500 elderly and infirm prisoners and 5,000 others who already have served more than their minimum sentences. Marlan said a total of about 15,000 inmates are past their minimum sentences but still behind bars as a result of parole violations or for other reasons.
The planned closing of the Southern Michigan Correctional Facility will affect 425 Corrections workers -- including officers and food services, clerical and maintenance workers. They won't all be laid off because there are job openings in the department, Marlan said, but an as-yet undetermined number could be let go.
Marlan said Corrections Director Pat Caruso already canceled two Corrections officer schools, which would have prepared 200 additional prison workers, in anticipation of the cutbacks. The department also has a hiring freeze.
Sen. Alan Cropsey, head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which deals with Corrections issues, said Granholm has the authority to close prisons without legislative approval.
"When the governor says it's closed, it's closed," said Cropsey, R-DeWitt. "But now she's the one who'll have to explain this."
It costs $35 million a year to run the Southern Michigan Correctional Facility, which opened in 1997 following renovations at the now-closed State Prison of Southern Michigan.
The state also plans to close the Charles Egeler Reception and Guidance Center Annex in Jackson, the prisoner intake point.
You can reach Gary Heinlein at (313) 222-2470 or gheinlein@detnews.com.