SPRINGFIELD - Another group of prisoners has been transferred as part of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's plan to close Pontiac Correctional Center and open a newer state prison in Thomson.

Nearly 40 inmates from the medium-security section of Menard Correctional Center near Chester were shipped Monday morning to the state's minimum-security prison in Vienna.

The transfer brings to nearly 300 the number of inmates who have been moved or are going to be moved since Oct. 6, when the Illinois Department of Corrections began ramping up its plan to close the 137-year-old prison in Livingston County.

The administration has been attempting to free up space at prisons within its sprawling system to accommodate the displacement of 1,400 Pontiac inmates by Dec. 31.

The governor's push to close Pontiac has enraged local officials and state lawmakers, who say shuttering the maximum-security facility will wreak economic havoc on the community.

Pontiac Mayor Scott McCoy said Monday the situation in the community is "very depressing."

State Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa, said he is concerned the Illinois Department of Corrections is reclassifying dangerous prisoners in order to send them to less-secure prisons - a concern Corrections officials say is unwarranted.

"This is nothing more than a major problem waiting to happen," Rutherford said.

"Somebody's going to get hurt," added McCoy. "It's a very, very dangerous process."

Blagojevich says closing Pontiac and opening Thomson will save $4 million during tough budget times.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents prison workers, opposes closing Pontiac and says the administration is mishandling the transfers.

For example, plans are underway to transfer 150 inmates from Lawrence Correctional Center to the prison in Pinckneyville beginning Tuesday.

The added prisoners in Pinckneyville will force the department to put two inmates in each cell. AFSCME says guards haven't received adequate training in the use of double-celling of inmates.

Overcrowding also is a concern at Vienna, which has a listed capacity of 885 inmates, but an average daily population of nearly 1,600.

Questions also were raised by local officials when the department transferred medium-security prisoners from Pontiac into minimum-security prisons in Taylorville and East Moline.

"Is any community safe from the fallout of these transfers into already overcrowded facilities?"' asked AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall.