Youth prisons warn about big cuts

Youth prisons warn about big cuts by Laura Stoecker

To read this article on the Daily Herald website,click here.

The leader of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice said the agency would have to release more than 200 offenders and close down two of its six youth prisons if the state budget is cut as deeply as some Democrats warn.

Acting Director Candace Jones told an Illinois Senate panel the agency would lay off more than 260 workers under a 20 percent budget cut but didn’t say whether the youth centers at St. Charles and Warrenville would be shuttered.