The Kewanee youth detention center scheduled for closing will instead be re-purposed as an Illinois Department of Corrections facility.
Republican Rep. Don Moffitt made the announcement today outside Kewanee City Hall.
Reading from a May 18 letter from Gov. Bruce Rauner, Moffitt said “the Department of Corrections will be able to re-purpose IYC-Kewanee as a correctional facility.
“The department is in the early stages of planning the transition, but will continue to keep you updated on the progress of the transition.”
The 15-year-old facility was originally slated to close July 1, taking more than 200 jobs with it.
Republican Senator Chuck Weaver said those Department of Juvenile Justice jobs will become IDOC jobs.
The decision to close the Illinois Youth Center at Kewanee was announced in February as a way to save about $14 million.
Weaver said IDOC houses about 45,000 inmates but has space for just 31,000. The Kewanee building holds 334.
No final decision has been made, but Moffitt said the facility could be re-purposed as a prison for geriatric inmates.
