Before Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested on federal charges, his administration hired 208 prison guards. They were supposed to provide security at a prison in northwestern Illinois. That prison was to see inmates transferred from the one in Pontiac.
A lawsuit has kept the Pontiac prison open. That means the guards do not have a prison to guard.
The guards were hired at a cost of $10.8 million a year. Closing the Pontiac prison saves $4 million a year.
The Pontiac mayor said he was “duped” because the displaced workers were supposed to get reassignments. He probably did not understand that to get his way, he was supposed to contribute to the Governor’s private fund.
