skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Illinois Activists Protest Solitary Confinement in 150-Mile Walk

play audio
Play

Wednesday, June 1, 2016   

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - A group of Illinois activists is taking a 150-mile walk to protest new solitary-confinement cells planned for one of the newest federal prisons in the state.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons plans to add 1,900 isolation cells to the Thomson Correctional Center. About a dozen members of the group Voices for Creative Nonviolence are protesting because they say solitary confinement is inhumane. As Illinois lawmakers considered new limits on solitary confinement, Voices for Creative Nonviolence co-coordinator Buddy Bell argued that the plans for the Thomson prison fly in the face of those ideas.

"We oppose the plans of the Bureau of Prisons to open a new facility in Thomson, Ill.," he said. "We don't approve of using solitary confinement unless there's an acute need for it and whatever problem arose can be solved within five days."

The group is stopping at First Congregational Church in Geneva today. Meanwhile, a state bill, House Bill 5417, which would limit solitary confinement to no more than five consecutive days, still is sitting in the House.

Four years ago, the federal government bought the Thomson prison from the state for $165 million. Instead of using the money to open new prisons, Bell said, those tax dollars could be better spent on more rehabilitative solutions.

"For the Federal Bureau of Prisons to be building a new facility is taking money away from other sectors of the government that could be boosting the economy," he said, "making sure that people have the opportunities that can be gleaned from the public money."

Voices for Creative Nonviolence started the march Saturday in Chicago and plans to end the protest walk at the prison site in Thomson on June 11.

Details of HB 5417 are online at legiscan.com.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021