Lawmakers seek solution for ‘culture of dishonesty’ within Illinois
corrections
[November 11, 2026]
By Sean Reed |
The Center Square
(The Center Square) – With years of safety complaints and incidents
within the Illinois Department of Corrections, especially stemming from
the Joliet Treatment Center, Illinois lawmakers Tuesday sought answers
for how the department intends to improve conditions for inmates.
More than 70 fires have been started over the last three years at the
center – a low-population facility IDOC describes as a prison for
“convicted adult male felons with severe mental illness.”
Among the fires were eight cases of prisoners intentionally setting
themselves on fire, leading to the death of two inmates according to
state records.
The Joliet facility costs taxpayers at least $336,699 per inmate each
year, according to the state’s 2025 budget, and lawmakers questioned how
the department could improve operations.
IDOC Acting Director Latoya Hughes and other top IDOC officials faced a
joint committee. She said the department is working to improve
conditions in Joliet by hiring a new employee for fire safety and a new
chief of mental health.
“Correctional facilities were never designed to serve as long-term
behavioral health centers. Even with dedicated staff and resources,”
Hughes said. ”The safety and well-being of those in our care as well as
our staff and visitors remains our top priority and we take these
concerns very seriously.”
Sheena McClain, a Joliet Treatment Center officer and AFSCME local
president, told lawmakers IDOC’s efforts haven’t been enough, and
employees and inmates are still left in unsafe conditions.
“Compounding the problems, the department frequently gives only surface
level treatment to long-standing operational problems,” McClain said.
Rep. Gregg Johnson, D-East Moline, is a former IDOC employee and said
his engagement as a lawmaker have resulted in him receiving incorrect or
non-answers to his questions, such as the denial and later confirmation
of the sexual assault of an employee.
“It's a culture of dishonesty that I have seen for decades now. But I
want to know what we can do to fix this because when legislators call
and they want to know what's going on with the facilities, I think they
absolutely are entitled to an honest straight answer,” Johnson said.
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Other lawmakers, such as Rep. Kelly Cassidy, the Democrat chair of
the Restorative Justice and Public Safety Committee, were critical
of the department’s operations and answers.
“I asked you [Hughes] to make it make sense. You did not. We have a
state of the art facility that is half empty and we have people all
over the state who are harming themselves for lack of access to
care. So, I appreciate all of those words, but it doesn't make sense
to me,” Cassidy said.
While IDOC officials said they have robust staffing, McClain said
staffing hasn’t been adequate since before the start of the decade.
McClain said some of the solutions to improve safety could include
the installation of sprinklers at the site – which was built without
them in 2017 – and increasing the employment of mental
health-specific staff.
Lawmakers sought another solution after the hearing, a bipartisan
bill to create a new independent ombudsman for the department.
The new role would investigate complaints about facility operations,
conditions and inmate treatment, while also conducting regular
facility visits to detail conditions, which would be released in
public reports.
Rep. Kevin Olickal, D-Chicago, said the bill he is sponsoring with
another Democrat and a Republican representative is clearly needed.
“These conditions put both incarcerated individuals and correctional
staff at risk. And yet under our current system, we are relying on
IDOC to investigate complaints about IDOC. We are asking the
department to hold itself accountable,” Olickal said.
The ombudsman would be required to have not served within IDOC or
the Department of Juvenile Justice or have contracted for the
agencies to ensure independence.
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