SPRINGFIELD - Though it has no power to stop him, a panel of lawmakers told Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday that his plan to close Pontiac Correctional Center is a big mistake. | Panel's vote called 'fantastic' | Park closures delayed

The bipartisan Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, which is charged with reviewing plans to close state facilities, voted unanimously against the governor's proposal.

State Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, was among those on the commission who called the governor's plan "misguided."

"It's a crime what he's done in this case. Someone's got to stand up and say 'no,"' Brady said.

Whether the vote has any effect on stopping the governor from shuttering the prison remains a question mark.

"We appreciate the commission's input on this matter and will take their recommendation under advisement," said Blagojevich spokesman Brian Williamsen.

Derek Schnapp, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Corrections, said it would have no affect on the agency.

"We're still planning to move forward," said Schnapp.

Under state law, the panel of members of both the House and Senate can gather testimony and information on the proposed closure of state facilities and then vote on whether to support it or oppose it.

However, the commission's vote is not binding on the governor, meaning he can move forward with the proposal regardless of what lawmakers say.

The governor announced in May his plan to close the 1,600-inmate facility and move most of the maximum-security prisoners to a mostly unused prison in Thomson, which is located north of the Quad-Cities.

The move would begin sometime early next year.

Estimates put the savings to state taxpayers at about $4 million per year. Opponents say it will rip out the economic heart of Livingston County, which has hosted the prison for 137 years.

State Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, D-Evanston, who co-chairs the commission, said testimony at an earlier hearing in Pontiac was "heart wrenching" and that the governor's decision to press forward with the closure "flies in the face of sound economic practice."

Pontiac Mayor Scott McCoy was pleased with the vote.

"I think it proves that closing the facility is not a good decision and not a good option," McCoy said.

State Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa, said the vote proves the governor's plan is "illogical."

"It does not make sense to close down a perfectly good facility like Pontiac when the state's prisons are already overpopulated," said Rutherford, whose district encompasses the prison.

State Rep. Shane Cultra, R-Onarga, urged the governor to heed the commission's vote.

"There is no question that the panel made the correct decision to keep Pontiac prison operational. Now it is time for the governor to follow that lead," Cultra said.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union hailed the decision, saying it could help protect nearly 600 jobs at the facility.

"Pontiac houses some of the state's most violent and dangerous maximum-security inmates, and there is nowhere else to safely incarcerate them in a system already jammed with some 11,000 more inmates than it was designed to hold," said AFSCME Executive Director Henry Bayer.