The labor union representing Illinois prison workers and the Illinois Department of Corrections agree that assaults on staff have increased in recent years.
DOC counted a 27 percent increase over fiscal years — 566 in the year that ended June 30, 2015, to 761 in the year that ended last June 30. AFSCME projected 819 assaults in calendar year 2017, based on year-to-date data, up from 541 in 2015.
AFSCME is asking the state to do more to keep its members safe. The union says officials are cutting costs by putting violent prisoners in less-secure prisons.
Roberta Lynch, Executive Director of AFSCME Council 31, says the DOC too often increases staff or repairs equipment only after correctional officers are assaulted. “We don’t want people to have to be injured in order for change to come about,” she said.
Cory Knop, who works at Lawrence Correctional Center in Sumner, says the union complained recently that the medium-security prison had assigned just one security officer to a healthcare unit with up to 30 inmates. The concern was that, if that officer were under attack, he or she would not be able to open the security door to let in backup.
Knop says that very scenario played out, and only then did management assign a second officer to the unit.
“We’re tired of waiting for our members to be hurt before they do something about it,” he said.
“We take staff safety very seriously."
Officer Cody Dornes from East Moline complained that an improper radio system delayed the response to a recent bloody attack on a guard who was alone on a 100-inmate unit.
Department of Corrections Director John Baldwin said the officer's distress call was heard, adding that he repeatedly has sought legislative appropriation for new equipment but has been stymied by the state's budget problems.
Baldwin acknowledges there are more assaults on staff, but he says the majority of the increase involves inmates throwing fluids, not physical violence. He also says department staffing has grown by 11 percent in the last few years.
Baldwin rejected AFSCME declarations that management "doesn't care" and dismissed union’s claims of "budget-driven security re-classification."
He said the department is changing its classification system for inmates to replace a 30-year-old model, acknowledging that "we have a lot of population in the wrong place."
Both AFSCME and DOC say some increase in assaults is expected as Illinois changes the way it deals with inmates who have mental illness. The state has agreed to improve such treatment in order to settle a lawsuit.
- Illinois Public Radio Statehouse reporter Brian Mackey and the Associated Press contributed to this story.
