MADISON, Wis. — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers wants to spend nearly half a billion dollars to address deteriorating conditions in Wisconsin prisons with a sweeping plan that includes shutting down one of the oldest prisons in the state.
The governor’s proposal would also make it easier for non-violent offenders to earn early release and invest in job training and substance abuse treatment in the hopes of preventing people from reoffending.
Watch: Gov. Evers proposes state prison reform:
“Wisconsin is decades behind in how we think about corrections,” Evers said. “My plan is the most cost-effective for taxpayers, it’s the most efficient for alleviating the challenges facing our correctional institutions, and it’s the safest option.”
Under the plan, Green Bay Correctional Institution, which was built in 1898, would close by 2029. Cell blocks at Waupun Correctional Institution, the state’s oldest prison, would be demolished and replaced by a new work training center for inmates. Both prisons are currently dealing with deteriorating infrastructure.
The governor faces an uphill battle with Republicans who control the state Legislature. Evers and GOP lawmakers have repeatedly clashed over how to deal with the issues plaguing the Department of Corrections, and Republicans on the Legislature’s powerful budget-writing committee will ultimately decide whether to include his plan in a new state budget later this year.
The governor stressed that his wide-reaching plan is an all-or-nothing approach, leaving little room for negotiation.
“Let me be clear, all these steps are interconnected, so this plan is contingent upon each of these steps happening in concert,” he said.
Evers’ plan begins with finally closing the troubled Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake youth prisons. Those facilities were set to close in 2021, but the state has faced numerous setbacks. A new youth prison in Milwaukee is under construction and set to open next year. Evers is also proposing a $130 million youth prison in Dane County.
Once juveniles are out of Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake, those facilities would be turned into a medium-custody men’s prison. Sanger B. Powers Correctional Center in Outagamie County would be expanded to house 200 more inmates, and upgrades would also be made to turn Stanley Correctional Institution in Chippewa County into a maximum-security prison.
The most expensive investment in Evers’ plan, at a cost of $245 million, is turning Waupun Correctional Institution into a “vocational village” where inmates could take courses and prepare for jobs once they’re released.
In total, Evers would have the state spend $325 million on adult prisons, and a total of almost $500 million when including policy changes and improvements to youth prisons. That comes as an alternative to the roughly $1.2 billion the governor’s office says it would take to build a new maximum-security prison to replace prisons Waupun and Green Bay.
The governor stressed that investments in remodeling prisons would be ineffective if the Legislature doesn’t also pass his policy changes, which include investments in parole programs and substance abuse treatment. Evers also wants to expand the Earned Release Program to allow nonviolent offenders within 48 months of their release to earn time off their sentence by completing work training programs. Currently the program is only offered to incentivize people with substance abuse disorders to complete treatment.
Corrections Secretary Jared Hoy backed Evers’ plan, calling it a “win-win.”
“We know these individuals who are given the skills that allow them to work in a family-supporting job are more likely to succeed in a community and are less likely to return,” Hoy said.
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