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Wednesday, August 6, 2008 9:32 PM CDT
Date of Pontiac prison hearing changed; mayor angry
By MIKE RIOPELL, JG/T-C Springfield Bureau
SPRINGFIELD (LEE) — A long-awaited hearing on the merits of a plan to close Pontiac Correctional Center and open a mostly unused prison in Thomson has been rescheduled, much to the chagrin of some local officials.
The likely controversial hearing had previously been set for Tuesday, but Gov. Rod Blagojevich has called for lawmakers to go to Springfield that day to work on school spending and construction issues.
The Springfield session conflicts with the planned meeting of a panel of lawmakers at Pontiac Township High School. Now, the meeting is set to happen at the high school Aug. 20 at 5 p.m.
A new hearing date could cause serious problems for Pontiac-area residents, said Mayor Scott McCoy. The mayor and others have protested the closing of the prison, saying a loss of nearly 600 jobs would be devastating.
McCoy said he “adamantly opposes” a change in date because local residents have spent many hours and thousands of dollars trying to get the word out about Tuesday’s meeting.
A car dealer had even planned to close early Tuesday so employees can make it to the hearing.
“I can’t ask everybody to do that again,” McCoy said.
“People are changing their lives because we’ve asked them to,” he added.
State Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa, said he is disappointed by the change but still hopes for a big turnout.
“I can’t help it,” he said. “This is not my desire, either.”
Dan Long, director of the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, said lawmakers’ schedules had to be coordinated.
“It just has to do with the members’ availability,” he said.
Lawmakers on the panel will evaluate Blagojevich’s proposal to shutter Pontiac’s prison in order to open the newer Thomson Correctional Center, which was completed in 2001 but has remained mostly unused since.
Blagojevich is required to go through the hearing process before closing any state facility. After hearing evidence, a panel of lawmakers will eventually recommend to the governor whether to go forward or not.
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