Prison plans move forward
A downstate prison for women could be moved into the same site as Stateville Correctional Center as part of a plan to rebuild both facilities. The recommendation from the Illinois Department of Corrections comes a little more than a month after Gov. J.B. Pritzker unveiled a plan to rebuild Stateville and Logan correctional centers, citing the deteriorating condition of the facilities. IDOC officials are asking for $161 million in fiscal year 2025 for the project at Stateville and nearly $80 million for Logan.
Calls for violence intervention funds
A group of gun control advocates are expected to rally at the Illinois Statehouse Tuesday. An announcement of the rally says the groups will call for the state to permanently fund a 2021 law that provided dollars to community violence intervention. The estimated cost for the program is $140 million in state funds in the proposed fiscal year 2025 budget that begins July 1.
Capone’s gun up for auction
A pistol owned by the notorious gangster Al Capone, which he nicknamed “sweetheart,” is going up for auction again. According to the South Carolina auction house selling the firearm, the Capone family said the gun was important and routinely protected his life. The bidding begins May 18 and the gun is expected to fetch up to $3 million. The pistol was manufactured in 1911 and was Capone’s prized possession when he rose to infamy as the head of the Chicago crime scene in the 1920s.
