Illinois should not be spending $900 million to rebuild prisons.

Jimmy Soto, No New Prisons Press Conference, April 15, 2026

In 2024, Governor Pritzker allocated $900 million of Illinois residents' tax dollars to rebuild two prisons, intending to replace Stateville and Logan with new facilities.

We urge the governor and Illinois legislators to reject the $900 million budget proposal to rebuild state prisons.

Instead, we call for the funds to be redirected towards life-affirming resources and projects that heal, feed, and restore communities, instead of separating individuals from their homes.

Tell your lawmakers we need community investment, NOT new prisons!

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Our Goals

Stop the Rebuilds: We will stop the construction of new prisons in Illinois. We stand against the construction of any new carceral facility, including but not limited to prisons, jails, juvenile detention centers, or immigration detention centers.

Close Logan: We will work intentionally to close Logan Correctional Center in a way that reduces harm during the closure and transfer process.

Decarceration: The alternative to construction is decarceration. We will work in coalition with our campaign partners to dramatically reduce Illinois' state prison population. We advocate for the end to incarceration, the humane release of people serving prison sentences, and non-carceral support for people released from prison.

Support for all people who remain incarcerated.

Divest/Invest: We will work towards investing economic resources and land into and directed by directly impacted communities.

Coalition members holding posters with campaign art

Coalition members holding screen printed posters featuring campaign art

Close Logan C.C.

During a time of deepening fiscal uncertainty for Illinois, it is unconscionable to reward the Illinois Department of Corrections, an agency riddled with inefficiency, incompetence, and inhumanity, with nearly $1 billion for an ill-defined plan that does not even identify the location of the new Logan Prison. Since March 2024, when RISE IDOC was introduced, IDOC has provided nearly no new information about the rebuilds.

Logan C.C. Press Conference, December 9, 2025

Ongoing Sexual Abuse

Sexual assault and coercion of people incarcerated at Logan Prison by correctional officers have reached a tipping point. In September 2025, Uptown People's Law Center (UPLC), Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE), and five private law firms filed lawsuits on behalf of seven women at Logan Prison, "exposing an ongoing crisis of sexual assault, harassment, and institutional retaliation" (UPLC). A recent Department of Justice report highlighted Logan Prison as one of nine prisons nationwide identified as high-rate facilities based on sexual victimization of incarcerated people by staff.

YES - these prisons should close.

For years, incarcerated people have documented and raised concerns about the hazardous conditions at Stateville and Logan prisons - including toxic mold, unsafe drinking water, insufficient temperature controls, environmental health hazards, noncompliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and crumbling buildings - that kill people.

NO - Stateville and Logan prisons should NOT be rebuilt.

Investing a minimum of $900 million to build two new prisons the state does not need is fiscally irresponsible, will not increase public safety, and is harmful to Illinois communities. Gov. Pritzker and IDOC’s plan is an investment in incarceration, not rehabilitation. Actual investment in trauma-informed and gender-responsive supports requires looking beyond the prison and investing in communities.