People in Kewanee are fighting back against plans to close the youth detention center.   Illinois’ Department of Juvenile Justice (DOJJ) announced in February that it could be shut down. Department heads say it’s too expensive, but a move to close it puts more than 250 jobs on the line.   Hundreds of people packed the Kewanee High School gym Wednesday night to talk about what impact the move would have. Emotions were running high for people on both sides of the issue. The DOJJ faced off against state and local lawmakers and people in the community, talking about the reasons for and repercussions of closing the Illinois Youth Center at Kewanee (IYC-Kewanee).   DOJJ Director Candace Jones says closing the center’s doors would save $14 million a year. Jones also says, although the facility just opened in 2001, changes are being made to the way the state handles kids who have committed crimes.   “When you put hundreds of the state’s highest-risk youth in an institution together, you increase the likelihood of violence. So much of what I am trying to do, what my team is trying to do, is move us away from that,” said Jones.   Since the potential closure was announced, the center has not taken on any new inmates. Jones says almost all of the current inmates will either be up for release or moved to a different type of facility by the time the center closes on July 1st, 2016. Many of the people trying to save the Kewanee center worry about what will happen to the highest-risk juveniles.   “They have robbed, raped, murdered, and will forever impact the lives of the victims that they have created. The youth currently housed at IYC-Kewanee are not low-risk offenders. They are in need of high security and they have specific needs in regards to mental health issues, sex offender counseling, and [criminal] factors,” said Heather Nolan, Youth & Family Specialist Supervisor at IYC-Kewanee.   Another concern is the more than 250 detention center employees. Jones says her office plans to work with union leaders to place those people at another corrections center. Even if jobs are saved, the city of Kewanee lose 55-million dollars or more, a year.   “It’s going to impact the businesses, it’s going to impact tax values and property values, it’s going to impact the schools. We shop here for clothing, groceries, gasoline. All that’s going to be impacted if we have no choice but to move,” said an advocate for keeping IYC-Kewanee open.   Illinois’ Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability will discuss the issue, and is expected to make a recommendation to Governor Rauner in April on whether or not to close the Kewanee facility. Jones says she does not know if the Department of Corrections would repurpose the building.

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