PONTIAC - "Irresponsible," "half-baked" and "misleading" were just some of the words a prison workers' union has used to describe plans to close Pontiac Correctional Center. | Read AFSCME's report on the closure (PDF) | Closing prison could benefit state - of Iowa

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees presented the report "Raising Risks: The Irresponsible Plan to Close Pontiac Correctional Center" at a news conference Wednesday at the AFSCME union hall in Pontiac. The report will be submitted to state officials at a public hearing, which has been moved from Tuesday to Aug. 20.

"We think that closing the Pontiac prison is really raising the risk for our members, inmates, the public and the correction system in Illinois," said Anne Irving, policy director for AFSCME Council 31, the union's state-level organization. "The key point is that it is irresponsible and doesn't make sense for our state."

Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced in May he plans to have the Department of Corrections close Pontiac prison and move its 1,660 inmates. Most would be transferred by February to the new but largely unused prison in Thomson, north of the Quad Cities.

The agency estimates the move would save Illinois taxpayers $4 million annually.

While the prison is worth about $45 million to the Pontiac area's economy, opening Thomson would pump $47.5 million into that area's economy, the department said.

The Pontiac prison also employs around 570 people, and those jobs would be transferred as well, officials said.

Corrections spokesman Derek Schnapp said it makes more sense to use Thomson, completed in 2001, instead of older facilities like Pontiac's.

"The primary mission of IDOC is the safety and security of its staff, inmates, and the community," he said. "Our maximum-security facilities have been a concern for us and are a drain on public resources."

The AFSCME report said the closure plan is flawed on several levels and called it "a half-baked and irresponsible political gambit."

Irving said Illinois prisons are overcrowded and closing Pontiac would only make that worse. The system exceeds capacity by 5 percent in maximum security facilities, 41 percent at medium-security ones and 55 percent in minimum-security sites.

Irving said only 800 beds would be open at Thomson, so the other half of Pontiac's inmates will have to go into already-overloaded prisons.

AFSCME said the Department Corrections says Pontiac prison needs $108 million in repairs, but the union contends "required" projects only cost $7 million.

AFSCME also contends the cost of closing one prison, opening another and moving the inmates will eat up proposed savings.

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Petition signing

What: Drive-through petition signing for supporters of Pontiac Correctional Center

When: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. today

Where: ASTA Care, 300 W. Lowell Ave., Pontiac

Details: The petition will be submitted to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability during a public hearing at 5 p.m. Aug. 20 at Pontiac Township High School. Numerous older cars and other vehicles will also be on display.