Employees rally against potential Stateville Correctional Center closure

Prison employees are protesting over fears of job losses and the potential shutdown of the Stateville Correctional Center.

CREST HILL, Ill. - Prison employees are protesting over fears of job losses and the potential shutdown of the Stateville Correctional Center.

A rally is taking place in Crest Hill, where union leaders claim the proposal to close the prison has thrown the system into chaos.

The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) plans to close Stateville for three to five years to build a new facility on the same site.

Staff members said they are already distressed by the transfer of inmates to facilities as far as 300 miles away.

Union leaders said the threat of closure has disrupted the prison system.