The Daily Egyptian, March 05, 2014
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Southern Illinois University Carbondale OpenSIUC March 2014 Daily Egyptian 2014 3-5-2014 The Daily Egyptian, March 05, 2014 Daily Egyptian Staff Follow this and additional works at: https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/de_March2014 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Daily Egyptian 2014 at OpenSIUC. It has been accepted for inclusion in March 2014 by an authorized administrator of OpenSIUC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. @dailyegyptian @dailyegyptianphoto DAILY EGYPTIAN Daily Egyptian Crammed Scooping the blizzard at Menard LUKE NOZICKA Daily Egyptian Violence is down at Menard Correctional Center, but the maximum-security prison is overcrowded, according to the 2013 John Howard Assocation inspection report. Te JHA frst started inspecting and reporting on detention centers in 1901. Menard is a maximum-security state prison for adult males in Chester. Te report used staf assaults, serious inmate assaults, shots fred, chemical agents utilized, weapons confscated and inmate disciplinary reports to evaluate violence levels. From 1970 to 2005, prison population in the United States increased by 700 percent, according to a recent report by the Pew Charitable Trust.America incarcerates 25 percent of prisoners worldwide, yet makes up 5 percent of the world’s population. In January Menard’s maximum-security facility population was 3,332, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections, Te most inmates allowed for operational capacity at Menard is 3,417. Alan Mills, the Uptown People’s Law Center legal director and an attorney who represents inmates at Menard, said two prisoners are roomed together in one tiny cell. “Tis used to be very small for one person and now have two people living in them,” he said. “Tere literally is not room for two people to stand in that cell at the same time and there’s no air circulation so ROBERT OLSON · DAILY EGYPTIAN they will typically spend 23-24 hours a day sitting inside that cell with nothing to do other than lying in Dairy Queen owner, Mark Waicukauski, left, and Bobby Kelly scrap ice and snow from the parking lot to prepare for business. bed or watching television, if they are lucky enough Waicukauski has been the owner of the Carbondale Dairy Queen franchise since 1980. They plan to open Wednesday. to have a TV.” Te JHA report states, “With double-cells as small as 4-feet-8 inches wide, inmates at Menard may experience the paradoxical detriment of both being crowded and isolated.” City deficit near $1million Mills said Illinois law has a minimum square- footage requirement of 50 square feet per person, and SETH RICHARDSON percent of the budget was reviewed. “Tose of us sitting back here, who Menard clearly violates the rule. Daily Egyptian Te budget defcit after a complete have worked through the city budget in “It’s understafed. It’s underfunded. It’s review is $977,000. recent years, know that you’re not going overcrowded,” he said. “So we have way too many Te Carbondale budget crisis is more Baity said his ofce already took steps to fnd any signifcant money in the city people sitting in their cells with nothing to do. than $200,000 worse than previously to decrease expenditures, including budget you would classify as waste or General population does get to go out twice a day for expected. a spending freeze. He said anything inefciency,” he said. meals, which means they’re out of their cell for a total City Manager Kevin Baity relayed costing more than $250 must frst be Te council discussed several ways to of about an hour.” the bad news to the City Council on reviewed by the city manager’s ofce. curb the already bare budget, including About 300 of the 3,000 inmates at Menard are in Tuesday. Baity said, at the Feb. 11 City Acting Mayor Don Monty was blunt reducing the number of police ofcers, classes and are taught by fve teachers. Council meeting, the city’s defcit was about the situation and said balancing fre fghters, code enforcement ofcers “Tere is only one leisure-time services which are an estimated $761,000. However, the the budget is more difcult than and street department workers. supposed to be coordinating whatever recreational number was estimated after only 60 eliminating waste and inefciency. Please see COUNCIL · 2 and educational activities there are at the prison,” he said. “One for all 3,000 prisoners, so there’s no way the staf can actually do anything there.” While the report states overall violence is down, inmate-on-inmate assaults increased from 80 to 109 USG talks Recreation Center from 2012 to 2013. Te number of serious inmate- on-staf assaults increased from fve to eight as well. LUKE NOZICKA Vaughn said the Rec Center will be Sports and Services is the number-two Mills said while the center has troubles, it made Daily Egyptian open until midnight in Fall 2014, and with student employer on campus with 250 strides by cutting down on lockdowns. extra money could look to extend hours student employees, generating an annual Tom Shaer, director of communications for the Te Undergraduate Student until 1 a.m. $720,000 back to the university. Illinois Department of Corrections, said the number of Government meeting Tuesday night Tis is the second year the Rec Center Vaughn said the LED lighting in the Rec lockdowns at Menard has had a tremendous decrease. covered the state of the student has not asked for a fee increase from the Center will save approximately $50,000 to “We’ve had only three full lock downs since last May Recreation Center, USG budget and new students and currently has more programs $150,000 a year. that were not health related,” Shaer said. “We did do allocations given. than ever before. Te HVAC and Energy Conservation some lockdowns in part of the facility because some of It began with news of extended hours More than 625,000 people come project, approved by the Board of Trustees the inmates had the fu and we didn’t want it to spread.” and an annual economic update of the to the Rec Center each year, with 700 Sept. 8, 2011 costs $5 million. Recreation Center by Troy Vaughn, community members and 40 sport clubs, Please see MENARD · 3 director of recreational sports and services. 30 of which are competitive. Recreational Please see USG · 2 Student insurance changes Kid Cudi review Mens golf falls short See Pg 3 See Pg 6 See Pg 11 2 Wednesday, March 5, 2014 Paul Simon poll shows most republican voters undecided SETH RICHARDSON candidates, Chicago billionaire Rauner held a signifcant lead among advertising. Rauner’s out-of-pocket many undecideds.” Daily Egyptian Bruce Rauner led the nominees with the candidates with southern Illinois total is $6 million, a record for an All candidates except Rutherford held 32.5 percent. voters, the numbers may tell a Illinois governor race. slight leads over Gov. Pat Quinn, but all Tere is still no clear favorite for 2010 Republican candidate for diferent story. However, Yepsen said the were within the margin of error of 5.7 the Republican primary for Illinois governor Bill Brady led the rest of the “He’s got about 32.5 percent of the signifcant number of undecided percent. Yepsen said this is both good governor in southern Illinois, nominees with more than 12 percent. vote, about a third,” he said. “Tat voters — more than 34 percent — and bad news for the current governor. according to a new poll. State Senator Kirk Dillard fnished means two-thirds of the likely voters could swing the vote a number of “On the one hand, Pat Quinn Te Paul Simon Public Policy with around 11 percent with State are somewhere else, either for other ways by the March 18 primary. is in trouble,” he said. “He’s got Institute released a poll Monday Treasurer Dan Rutherford just below candidates or undecided.” “With two weeks left to go, there’s republicans very competitive with showing a majority of likely 10 percent. Yepsen said Rauner’s lead was still a lot of softness in the Republican him. On the other hand, he’s hanging Republican primary voters at 34.6 Director of the Paul Simon likely because of the signifcant primary electorate,” he said. “It’s too in there and he’s not blown out of the percent are undecided. Of the Institute David Yepsen said while amount of money he has spent on early to say this race is over with that water against any of the four of them.” USG of the building in 2018. did not recommend allocation for COUNCIL meeting before the April 1 deadline. CONTINUED FROM 1 “Believe me, as you would food because they did not view Despite the budget problems, CONTINUED FROM 1 pay of a mortgage or you would it as a responsible way to spend the City Council was able to Seventeen new pieces for pay of a car – you’d go hip-hip student money. achieve funding for housing diferent weight rooms have been hooray,” Vaughn said. MCM representatives said they Eliminating street sweeping redevelopment. Te council purchased over the last year. He said at this point there is no cannot fundraise through their end was also considered, however the accepted a $168,000 grant Vaughn said there is a push to get discussion to expand the weight of the year red carpet event anymore. council agreed the last time the from the Illinois Housing new treadmills in the Recreational room in Lentz. “Te other fundraising event city adopted this option in 2008, Redevelopment Authority for Center as well.