Pontiac Correctional Center

Pontiac Correctional Center holds the distinction of being the eighth oldest correctional facility in the U.S. having opened in June 1871 as the Boy's Reformatory. It was renamed the Illinois State Penitentiary - Pontiac Branch in 1933 and in 1973 it received the name it bears today.

Pontiac Correctional Center is comprised of two units with two security level classifications. The Maximum-Security Unit is classified Level 1 and principally houses problematic offenders in disciplinary segregation with limited privileges, Protective Custody, Orientation, Mental Health and Condemned Unit offenders with a sentence of death. Movement only occurs via direct staff escort. The Medium-Security Unit is classified Level 3 and houses medium- and minimum-security status offenders.

Highlights

During FY 2003, the Employee Benefit Fund erected a marble stone monument and dedicated it as a lasting tribute to all of the service men and women deployed to defend our country overseas during the Iraqi conflict.

The South Mental Health Unit provides professional mental health intervention, including psychiatry and psychology services for long-term segregation offenders who are chronically mentally ill with a current diagnosis of schizophrenia, psychotic, bipolar or major affective disorder. Security staff assigned to the Mental Health Unit received additional training in mental health issues.

Pontiac Correctional Center is the only facility with a Condemned Unit. As such, the center was an integral part of former Governor Ryan's commutation process for Condemned Unit offenders. This undertaking was labor intensive and involved a tremendous amount of man-hours for Clinical Services and Record Office staff.

Pontiac Correctional Center is designated as the Primary Protective Custody Unit for the state of Illinois. This resulted in an increase in offender population in the Protective Custody Unit from 180 to 465.

Reducing Recidivism

In support of the governor's initiative to reduce recidivism, Pontiac Correctional Center's program staff continues to encourage offenders to participate in its self-enhancement programs. Research suggests that individuals who take advantage of programmatic opportunities are better prepared for re-entering society and are more likely to have a successful re-entry. Pontiac Correctional Center offers offenders the opportunity to participate in the following programs: GED, Adult Basic Education and Substance Abuse Education, Alcohol Anonymous, Pre-Start, Life Skills, Building Trades and Food Service. Offenders in the Food Service class learn the basics of safety and sanitation and how to prepare and serve meals. The offenders in this class are also given real life experience. Once per week, they prepare and serve lunch for staff. In addition, they prepare foods for a variety of special events. Those that successfully complete the class have the skills required to work in the food service industry when released.

Access to learning materials is also made available upon request to those offenders in segregation status.

Security Initiatives

The safety and security of both staff and offenders remain a vital concern at Pontiac Correctional Center. To this end, numerous steel reinforced cells were constructed for the placement of offenders with a proclivity to be destructive, thus decreasing potential damage concerns.

A new procedure was implemented in the Dental Office when a procedural weakness was discovered. The new procedural requires a mid-day instrument count. In addition, the instrument processor and sterilizer was relocated to the lab area where it is no longer accessible to offenders.

To stop the interdiction of contraband into the facility, a total of 3,277 visitor's vehicles were searched during FY 2003. This resulted in a total of 121 visitors being placed on visiting restriction and four visitors being arrested. A total of 46,934 offender cell searches were conducted resulting in the confiscation of 111 weapons.

Other safety and security issues undertaken and completed were the fabrication and installation of 36 security gates at gallery entrances in all cell houses, a new roll of razor wire was placed around the Medium-Security Unit outer perimeter, outer perimeter lighting was re-configured, the structural integrity of crisis cell fronts in the South Mental Health Unit was modified.

Fiscal Responsibility and Budgetary Compliance

Pontiac Correctional Center lost 90 employees through the Early Retirement Incentive program. Nevertheless, programmatic and operational areas meet the challenge of doing more with less.

Pontiac Correctional Center was able to meet its fiscal responsibilities and budget compliance as demonstrated by the fact that it did not have any material (major) or immaterial (minor) findings during the fiscal audit from the Auditor General's Office. The center also received a rating of 96 percent from CMS's audit of its handling of insurance procedures. This rating was the best rating received by any facility in the Illinois Department of Corrections at the time.

Indicator Reports

A review of the FY 2002 and FY 2003 Indicator Reports resulted in the following statistical comparisons. The number of staff assaults reduced 26 percent, down from 299 in FY 2002 to 237 during FY 2003. Serious staff assaults reduced approximately 42 percent, down from 71 in FY 2002 to 58 during FY 2003.

The number of offenders successfully completing the ABE program increased 58 percent for a total of 52 during FY 2003, up from 33 during FY 2002. The number of offenders who successfully completed the PreStart program increased 15 percent for a total of 287 during FY 2003 up from 250 during FY 2002.

Pontiac increased the number of offenders who were drug tested during FY 2003 by 125 percent. During FY 2002, 432 offenders were drug tested with seven positive results. During FY 2003, 1,059 offenders were drug tested with zero positive results.

New Technology and Automated Enhancements

The workstations at Pontiac Correctional Center have been upgraded from Office 97 desktop operating system to Office 2000 desktop operating system. The LAN administrator was able to complete this upgrade in less than one month.

The implementation of an automated system for processing meritorious good time, supplemental meritorious good time and disciplinary reports streamlined the process. This processing change allows the Record Office staff to maintain its quality and efficiency.

During this year, the library staff converted the condemned unit law library into a segregation law library and began using the new on-line key-cite program and Westlaw.

Pontiac Correctional Center's Personnel Department now uses the new Personnel Action Request system for filling all funded authorized positions.

New DNA laws have compelled the Illinois Department of Corrections to test most offenders. The Record Office has met the challenge of coordinating and inputting the tests in the system.

Conclusion

Pontiac Correctional Center is fortunate to have a staff of dedicated and professional employees who unite as a family during times of crisis. During such times, employees bond together to achieve whatever goal is at hand. Whether it involves the collection of funds and goods for a co-worker going through a personal, medical or financial crisis or an issue in the community at large, Pontiac Correctional Center staff is always willing to dig a little deeper and go the extra mile. In the event of an emergency situation at this facility, there will be no shortage of staff willing and able to respond to the need.