PUBLIC HEARING SET ON PERMANENT CLOSURE OF GREENE COUNTY WORK CAMP

WHITE HALL, IL — Greene County residents will have an opportunity later this month to weigh in on the proposed permanent closure of the Greene County Work Camp near Roodhouse, a correctional facility that has been part of the community for more than three decades.

The Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability has scheduled a public hearing for Thursday, October 22, at 1 p.m., at the North Greene Unit Office Board of Education, 250 East Sherman Street in White Hall.

The Illinois Department of Corrections announced in August that it intends to permanently close the Greene County facility, along with the Clayton Work Camp and two other correctional programs elsewhere in Illinois.

The Greene County Work Camp has not housed inmates since 2020 and was formally placed on temporary closure status in 2023. The facility originally opened in March 1993 as an impact incarceration program and later operated as a minimum-security work camp with capacity for approximately 200 inmates.

State corrections officials say the closures are part of a broader effort to reduce operating costs and consolidate correctional services. The department says employees will be reassigned rather than laid off, with Greene County personnel expected to move to the Jacksonville Correctional Center.

The proposal has drawn criticism from state lawmakers who question how the facilities were gradually taken out of service and what their permanent closure will mean for surrounding communities.

The upcoming hearing will allow representatives of the Department of Corrections, correctional employees, local officials and members of the public to provide testimony. The commission will subsequently consider its recommendation.

Although the facility has been inactive for years, its proposed permanent closure raises questions about the future of the property and whether another public or economic use can be found for the site.

Residents who cannot attend may submit comments to the commission by emailing facilityclosure@ilga.gov or calling 217-785-3014.