Illinois seeks two Crest Hill prisons, leaving Lincoln out of Logan
Correctional Center rebuild plan
[June 09, 2026]
By Jenna Schweikert and UIS Public Affairs Reporting (PAR)
The Illinois Department of Corrections is officially planning to rebuild
both Logan and Stateville correctional centers in Crest Hill, dashing
locals’ hopes that the state would rebuild Logan at its current Lincoln
location.
The Friday, June 5, announcement comes two years after Gov. JB Pritzker
and IDOC originally announced the state would rebuild the Logan and
Stateville Correctional Centers.
Early on, it became apparent the state would likely rebuild both in
Chicago’s far southwest suburb of Crest Hill, where Stateville is
already located. Locals protested — but a construction advising team
hired by the state determined the Logan women’s facility should be
rebuilt in Crest Hill in tandem with the Stateville men’s facility due
to financial and operational needs.
The announcement drew criticism from local and state Republican leaders
who say the choice to move Logan instead of rehabbing the facility could
cause further economic harm to the city of Lincoln and Logan County,
after the closure of two private colleges in the area.
IDOC said it will provide transfer opportunities for Logan employees —
but current employees and union representatives say packing up and
moving presents a hardship for families.
Site criteria
The decision to rebuild Logan and Stateville came after both facilities
presented “critical infrastructure needs,” according to the
administration. Stateville was built in 1925 and Logan includes
buildings dating back to the 1930s.
The firm hired by the state to manage and advise the construction
process examined the potential locations in Lincoln and Crest Hill. It
also conducted a needs assessment for the soon-to-be-built facilities
and visited other correctional facilities across the country.
“Examination of the current Logan Correctional Center site and
alternative sites in Lincoln demonstrated that these options did not
exhibit the physical space or site conditions required to accommodate
the new women’s facility within the established acreage, security, and
operational parameters,” IDOC said in a Friday statement.
Building both facilities in Crest Hill also allows for shorter project
duration and shared infrastructure such as a central utility plant,
warehouse, entry drive and parking lot, healthcare and educational and
re-entry resources, which will minimize costs.
Months after the state’s original announcement to rehab the facilities,
Logan County residents filled a series of hearings to protest the
state’s apparent plan to build both facilities in Crest Hill. And
shortly after IDOC’s announcement Friday, state Sen. Sally Turner, R-Beason,
and Rep. Bill Hauter, R-Morton, released a joint statement with Logan
County Board Chair James Glenn and Lincoln Mayor Tracy Welch criticizing
the decision.
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Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln will not be rebuilt under the
state’s prison rebuild plan. Instead, two prisons will be built in
Crest Hill. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Campbell)
“Illinois should be investing in much needed repairs and upgrades to
Logan, so that it can best serve its role to rehabilitate people to
become productive members of society,” the statement said. “Moving the
facility will do nothing to improve outcomes for those who are
incarcerated there, it will absolutely devastate our local communities,
and it will force staff to choose between uprooting their families from
their homes or going on unemployment.”
IDOC said it plans to keep Logan open as long as possible to avoid
disruption and is evaluating future use of the property. It’s unclear
when construction will begin as the state begins soliciting design
proposals, although IDOC estimates it will take five years to complete
construction.
New facilities
IDOC is working with the Illinois Capital Development Board to construct
the two multi-level security facilities, which will include
“rehabilitative and gender-responsive spaces with housing, education,
programming, medical and mental health, dietary, and recreational areas
to support the successful re-entry of individuals into their
communities.”
The women’s facility will have a capacity of 800, and the men’s facility
will have a capacity of 1,500, with infrastructure in the men’s facility
to allow for up to 450 additional beds. Later this summer, the Capital
Development Board plans to open proposals for the design and
construction of these facilities.
The budget for the 2026 fiscal year, which ends June 30, included $900
million in new funds to build a new men’s facility and a new women’s
facility. Both Logan and Crest Hill received over $1 million for capital
improvements in the 2027 budget beginning July 1.
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