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Activists rally in support of Gov. Quinn’s proposal to close Tamms Correctional Center
Published: 04-09-12
Because it uses solitary confinement as a means of punishment, the Tamms Correctional Center in Tamms, Ill., has been a controversial topic since its opening in 1998. Now, a proposal from Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration may require the facility to close, prompting a greater push from anti-Tamms activists.
On April 4, Darby Tillis, a death row abolitionist and the first Illinois death row inmate to be exonerated, leads a group to the headquarters of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Union office, located at 205 N. Michigan Ave. Mothers, family members, former inmates of Tamms Correctional Center and supporters held a news conference outside the James R. Thompson Center, 100 W. Randolph St., to applaud Governor Pat Quinn for proposing to close Tamms. Sara Mays THE CHRONICLE
“Closing Tamms is, for financial reasons, a very obvious thing to do,” said Laurie Jo Reynolds, an organizer of Tamms Year Ten, a grassroots organization that advocates against the prison. “But we’re not here for the financial reasons. We’re here because this is an issue of human dignity.”
Tamms is the only super-maximum security prison in Illinois. Inmates at the facility have been deemed a threat to prison officials and other inmates in the general prison population.
Karl Jackson, who served seven years in solitary confinement at Tamms, said inmates spend 23 hours daily in their cells, cells, furnished solely with a concrete bed, a small window, a sink and a toilet.
He said he and other inmates were “subdued by any means necessary” and were denied adequate medical treatment because they were not allowed to have physical contact with nurses.
At the rally, several former inmates joined the crowd in shouting, “No more cages, no more torture!” and “Torture is a crime, not a career!”
“Tamms is one of the most atrocious places that has ever existed,” said Reginald King Barry Sr., who served eight years in the center. “It really shouldn’t be called a prison. It should be called a dungeon, a facility of torture.”
Their shouts grew louder as the protesters marched east on Randolph Street to the Tamms union AFSCME’s headquarters at 205 N. Michigan Ave. Outside the headquarters, the crowd continued to chant as mothers of inmates signed a letter to AFSCME condemning its support of Tamms.
The letter was not well-received by AFSCME officials.
“Those pushing to close Tamms demonstrate little concern for the safety of the 13,000 employees and 50,000 other inmates who live or work in state prisons,” said Henry Bayer, executive director of Council Leadership for AFSCME. “Inmates are transferred to Tamms as a result of their own actions—brutal violence against other inmates and employees of the prison system.”
While proponents of Tamms maintain that the facility is the best place for dangerous inmates, the American Civil Liberties Union, which released a written testimony April 2 condemning the prison, argues that solitary confinement does more harm than good.
“Solitary confinement is inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution and international human rights principles,” the statement said.
The question of humanity is one that surrounds the prison, according to the activists who adamantly supported the ACLU’s stance.
“You had the president [wanting to] shut down Guantanamo Bay because men who were labeled as terrorists were being treated inhumanely,” Barry said. “There’s inhumane treatment right here in the state of Illinois.”
However, AFSCME asserts that standing behind supermax prisons is the best way to ensure safety.
“Those truly concerned with inmate rights should join our effort, not push a course that will lead to more violence and instability in Illinois prisons,” Bayer said.
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Mr. Bayer is the local head of a union with a great progressive history. Members of AFSCME marched with MLK in Memphis in 1968. But in this case, the union is on the wrong side of history. Tamms subjects people to conditions that are tantamount to torture — and nobody, not even a union member, should be doing that kind of work.
Mr. Bayer is also lying — or mistaken — when he says that men are transferred to Tamms for violent acts against guards or other inmates. More than half of the men there have not committed any violence against guards or other prisoners. And those that have can easily be contained at another prison.
So this is all about the jobs and the money. Jobs are important — but not at any price. If you think the prison is wrong, write your state legislators and the governor and tell them so.