The State of Wisconsin is moving forward with reforms to its prison system, including the closure of the Green Bay Correctional Institution.
The Wisconsin State Building Commission approved $743 million for construction projects to be released, and includes $110 million through the state’s 2025-2027 state budget for planning and design for multiple projects.
Governor Tony Evers says his comprehensive corrections reform plan includes reforms to help stabilize the state’s skyrocketing prison population while ultimately closing GBCI, closing Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake Schools, and revamping the Waupun Correctional Institution to a state-of-the-art “vocational village.”
$15 million of the state building commission’s total will fund preliminary plans to convert Stanley Correctional Institution into a 1,500-bed maximum-security prison with the ability to “flex” as a medium-custody institution after the changes to GBCI and Waupun.
That’s among other projects proposed by the Evers Administration.
WBAY reports that Republicans are not entirely on board with the plan, including State Senator Andre Jacque, who’s on the state’s building commission.
He made statements such as that the proposal is “not a serious proposal” and that Evers is not listening to Republican ideas for reforming state prisons.
Leaders in the Village of Allouez, where GBCI is located, have been calling for the closure of the prison due to its age and the conditions in which inmates live.
