PONTIAC - Local officials wanted a large turnout for Wednesday night's much-anticipated public hearing about the closing of the Pontiac Correctional Center. Well, they got it. About 2,000 people flooded the Pontiac Township High School auditorium, the lobby area outside the auditorium and even the adjacent gymnasium. | Photo gallery | Video

They came to hear what the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, the Illinois Department of Corrections and the numerous public officials, businesses, economic groups and area residents had to say.

Several DOC officials spoke first about what the exact reasoning was behind shuttering the 137-year-old facility, and they explained that the closure process is continuing.

"I've had to make some very tough decisions regarding the day-to-day operations, and this is obviously one of them." Corrections Director Roger Walker Jr. said.

Walker said the original plan of closing Stateville Correctional Center was originally a major objective, but it was not the best operational plan to move forward after the department went through the budgeting process. He said closing the Pontiac prison would produce a $3.6 million savings in the 2009 fiscal year and $4.9 million in savings each year thereafter.

Walker also said this was the best course of action to take in opening Thomson Correctional Facility, a mostly unused prison in northern Illinois built in 2001.

But numerous other officials who presented testimony Wednesday and the 2,000 people in attendance disagreed.

Even Bill Lease, mayor of Savanna, a community about 10 miles north of Thomson, disagreed. Despite talking about the economic hardships Savanna is facing, he said he could not support a closure under these circumstances.

Numerous arguments presented details that the Illinois prison system is operating at 135 percent overcapacity and the economic impact in Livingston and surrounding counties would be devastating.

Robin Hanna of the Illinois Institute of Affairs said closing the Pontiac prison would mean a $54 million loss for counties that do business with the Pontiac facility, while a $47.5 million gain will go to the Thomson area, a $6.5 million difference.

The $47.5 million gain is also a best-case scenario if all employees would be from Illinois. A $37.2 million gain would be if 75 percent of the workforce came from Illinois and not Iowa.

"This is an outrage," said Henry Bayer, executive director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. "They claim that this will save $3.6 million … but that is one-half of 1 percent of their budget. Nothing that was said tonight has convinced me that there is a good reason to close it."

The hearing is the latest step in a series of moves connected to the Illinois state budget. Gov. Rod Blagojevich, in another battle with state legislators, announced in May that he would consider closing the Pontiac prison and transferring half of the 1,600 inmates to a mostly unused facility in Thomson. The other half would be dispersed to other facilities. The closure would mean the loss of about 600 prison jobs, although some workers might have the option of transferring to Thomson, located in Carroll County in far northwestern Illinois, or to other facilities.

The Pontiac Correctional Center is a maximum- and medium-level facility housing some of the state's most hardened criminals. The prison has been in Pontiac, a town of 12,000, since 1871. Residents of Pontiac and Livingston County cried loudly at the proposed closure; government and economic officials estimate the closure would devastate the economy of local communities and nearby counties.

Critics also point out Thomson's proximity to Iowa and question whether jobs would go to those within the Land of Lincoln.

Since the May announcement, T-shirts and yard signs have carried a message of "Save Pontiac Prison." Parades, petitions, photo shoots and numerous press conferences have supported keeping the prison in Pontiac.

"We have 11 businesses that do business with the prison and 70 to 75 people who work there," said Ryan Whitehouse, government affairs director for the McLean County Chamber of Commerce. "A lot of them are service businesses that are directly affected, so they will definitely be impacted by the closure."

The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability will review all of the information gathered at Wednesday's public hearing. COGFA members will decide whether to support the closure. A recommendation report has to be filed by Sept. 24 to Blagojevich, Department of Corrections, the General Assembly and the secretary of state. The report may have an influence, but the process is considered complete.

This process was a part of the Facilities Closure Act, which has COGFA review the issue to analyze its impact on the community and employees.

Overall, Blagojevich still has the final authority on whether to close the prison or to leave it open, regardless of COGFA's findings.

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A look at the fight over Pontiac prison

What happened Wednesday? The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability held a public hearing at Pontiac Township High School on the plan to close the Pontiac Correctional Center.

What is Gov. Blagojevich's plan for Pontiac? The governor wants to close the prison, moving its 1,600 inmates to a largely unused prison in Thomson, in northwestern Illinois. He says the move would save about $4 million as the state struggles to pay its bills while coping with a deficit of roughly $700 million.

What is the town's response? Officials in Pontiac, a town of about 12,000 that's 40 miles northeast of Bloomington, would lose 570 jobs at the prison. The facility, which has been here more than 130 years, is the second-largest local employer.

Can the commission do anything? The commission, which is a bipartisan legislative panel, can't block the governor's plan. Its recommendation, which could come at any time between this week and late September, is purely advisory.