Pubdate: Mon, 21 Jul 2003
Source: Wisconsin State Journal (WI)
Copyright: 2003 Madison Newspapers, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.wisconsinstatejournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/506
Author: Tom Sheehan, State government reporter
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

DOYLE TO SIGN PLANS TO OPEN 2 PRISONS

Gov. Jim Doyle said he will sign state budget plans to open two empty and 
long-fought-over new prisons in April 2004, helping clear the way for 
nearly half of the 2,290 prisoners held out of state to return to Wisconsin.

Doyle, a Democrat, had proposed leaving prisons in New Lisbon and Chippewa 
Falls closed until at least mid-2005 to save money. But Doyle said over the 
weekend that he would approve language added to the 2003-05 state budget by 
Republicans that would bump up the opening dates. The news is likely to 
surprise some Republicans, who had been told by administration officials 
that opening the prisons would cost too much compared to leaving prisoners 
out of state.

Doyle said he changed his mind, in part, because Highview Correctional 
Institution in Chippewa Falls will become the state's first prison 
dedicated to drug and alcohol treatment under the plan.

"It's a way to deal with some of the underlying problems, so that when 
people come out of prison, we're going to reduce the likelihood they're 
going to be coming back," Doyle said.

Revisions made during the budget process will increase in-state prison 
capacity, make prisons cheaper to operate and better fit Doyle's desire to 
emphasize rehabilitation, said Matthew Franks, secretary of the state 
Department of Corrections.

Opening Highview and New Lisbon will create 510 Corrections jobs, 350 at 
New Lisbon and 160 at Highview, Franks said.

Highview, which was built to hold 300 geriatric prisoners, will hold 450 
prisoners - all but 50 enrolled in treatment programs, Franks said. The 
four-month-long treatment program is intended for nonviolent inmates 
selected by the department. The program won't result in early release 
unless a participant is parole-eligible and resentenced by a judge, Franks 
said.

Administration officials came up with the revised plan for Highview after 
western Wisconsin Republicans asked for alternatives to keeping the prison 
closed, Franks said. Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee put the 
proposal in the budget.

The New Lisbon prison, which was planned to hold 750 inmates, will hold 
950. Opening the prison didn't make sense until capacity there was 
increased and other changes were made to help reduce the demand for prison 
space, Doyle said.

Doyle said he will approve language added by Republicans aimed at keeping 
270 jobs at Northern Wisconsin Center for the Developmentally Disabled, 
which shares a campus with Highview. But most of those jobs will be phased 
out by mid-2005 as the state shifts to placing developmentally disabled 
people in community settings, Doyle said.

"That means we are authorized to have that number of people there. It isn't 
that we must have that number of people there. They can't order you to hire 
people to do things when there's no job to do," Doyle said.

Doyle's budget plan calls for leaving room for 20 full-time residents and 
73 jobs at the center. In May, the center had about 170 residents and 575 
employees. Some of those employees may be able to get jobs at Highview, and 
some workers from the center have taken jobs at the nearby 1,500-bed 
Stanley Prison. But not all employees will be accommodated because of the 
number and types of jobs available, Franks said.

Some Republican legislators, including Rep. Sheryl Albers, R-Reedsburg, had 
accused Doyle of inflating opening costs for the prisons and 
underestimating the local economic impact. Doyle aides had said the cost of 
opening Highview and New Lisbon could be as high as $29 million during the 
two-year budget. The higher estimates were based on figures provided by 
former Gov. Scott McCallum's administration, Franks said. As a result of 
the changes and other adjustments, opening the two prisons will be $17 
million cheaper than first estimated, Franks said.

Based on changes in the Corrections budget and prison population 
projections, Franks said he anticipates 1,040 prisoners held out of state 
will return to Wisconsin by September 2004.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom