Illinois Briefs - 8/25/11

Concern Over Prison Guard Numbers

(Springfield, IL)  --  Budget constraints are creating real safety concerns in Illinois' prison system for some legislators.  State Senator Shane Cultra says the Illinois Department of Corrections is already short-staffed and could lose up to one-thousand guards over the next year because of retirements.  Cultra is joined in his concern by fellow Senator John O. Jones. Both Jones and Cultra have several prisons in their districts.  Jones and Cultra said they want to see a combination of early release programs and new hires to combat the discrepancy.

Regional Superintendents to Find Out About Pay Friday

(Springfield, IL)  --  It's not just an issue of whether Illinois' regional superintendents should be paid. The legal challenge now before a judge in Springfield has become a serious constitutional question.  Sangamon County Judge John Schmidt will issue a ruling Friday on whether he will force Governor Pat Quinn to pay the regional superintendents, who have not been paid since Quinn zeroed-out their money from the state budget in July.  The lawyer for the superintendents, Charles Schmadeke (Sch-my-day-key) said the governor has stepped beyond his bounds.  The governor wants to pay the superintendents, but from local tax money not state dollars.

Illinois DCFS Head Steps Down

(Springfield, IL)  --  Illinois will need a new director at the Department of Children and Family Services.  Erwin McEwen, who has lead DCFS since late 2006, announced Thursday that he is stepping down effective September 30th.

Central Illinois Car Plant Changing Gears

(Normal, IL)  --  It's a changing of the guard, or more specifically, a changing of the cars in Normal.  The Mitsubishi Motors plant in the central Illinois city will change the vehicles made there by the end of the week.  Mitsubishi has been producing Eclipse coupes, Spyder convertibles and Endeavor SUVs.  But the company is ending that production, and will transition the plant to make Outlander Sport crossover SUV's by mid-2012.  In February Mitsubishi announced a 100-million dollar investment in the plant to produce the Outlander Sport.

30 Year Sentence for Southern Illinois Cop

(Murphysboro, IL)  --  A former southern Illinois police officer convicted of robbing a bank at gunpoint is headed away for three decades.  A judge in Murphysboro sentenced James Gaddis, an ex-Carbondale police officer, to 30 years in prison.  The Southern Illinoisan reports that Gaddis used his police pistol to rob the First Southern Bank branch in Carbondale.  He and an accomplice got away, temporarily, with almost 23-thousand dollars.

Decatur Mayor: I'm Running for State Senate

(Decatur, IL)  --  The mayor of Decatur wants to get a job in Springfield.  Mayor Mike McElroy made it official Wednesday morning that he intends to run for the Illinois Senate in 2012.  Lawmakers drew a new political map this year, so the seat would be open to new candidates.  The 48th District includes parts of Decatur and Springfield, and stretches into Macoupin and Madison counties.  Political insiders say the map was drawn to favor a Democrat.  McElroy is a Republican.  Two Democrats, including a man who works for the Illinois Senate President, have already expressed their interest in the seat.