Tamms transferring inmates ahead of closure

Tamms transferring inmates ahead of closure

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Prison officials looking to close a southern Illinois maximum-security prison say they’ve begun relocating that lockup’s minimum-security inmates.

Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman Stacey Solano tells the Carbondale Southern Illinoisan that 30 of the minimum-security prison camp’s 175 inmates were moved Thursday to the 32-year-old Hardin County Work Camp. Solano says those still at the Tamms camp will be transferred elsewhere in coming weeks.

Gov. Pat Quinn has said he wants to close Tamms and the all-female Dwight Correctional Center on Aug. 31, saving an estimated $48 million.

It’s still unclear when the Tamms’ maximum-security inmates will be relocated.

The Hardin County Work Camp can accommodate 288 inmates and now has 230 prisoners, including those brought over from Tamms.