Wisconsin prison system overhaul, state OKs $15M for design process

MADISON, Wis. - The bipartisan Wisconsin Building Commission on Tuesday unanimously signed off on spending $15 million to start a design process that would overhaul the state’s corrections system.

Evers' plan

What they're saying:

In February, Gov. Tony Evers, who chairs the commission, unveiled his six-year, $500 million plan that would ultimately close Green Bay Correctional Institution and modernize many of the state’s other aging prisons while shrinking the number of available beds. 

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"I think the important point in front of us is that getting this money moving will allow DOC, DOA to really act in haste and start that planning process," said Jared Hoy, Wisconsin Department of Corrections secretary.

The backstory:

Evers presented his plan as the best and only option to address the state’s aging facilities. Problems at the lockups have included inmate deaths, assaults against staff, lockdowns, lawsuits, federal investigations, criminal charges against staff, resignations and rising maintenance costs.

The multitiered proposal starts with closing the troubled Lincoln Hills and Cooper Lake juvenile correctional facilities in northern Wisconsin, and building a new one near Madison at the site of a current minimum security prison. The Lincoln Hills campus would then be converted into a medium-security adult prison. The prison in Green Bay, built in 1898, would be closed.

The plan also proposes that the state’s oldest prison, which was built in Waupun in 1851, be converted from a maximum-security prison to a medium security center with a "vocational village" focused on workforce training. The Stanley Correctional Center would be converted from a medium to a maximum-security prison and the prison in Hobart would be expanded to add 200 minimum-security beds.

Republican opposition

The other side:

The Republican-led Wisconsin Legislature called for closing the troubled prison in Green Bay by 2029, but Evers vetoed that provision earlier this year – saying it couldn't be done without getting behind his entire plan.

"We’ve all fought for corrections reform and would have been happy to sit down with the governor and work on a very good plan for corrections reform," said Republican state Sen. Mary Felzkowski. "We could have worked together to get this done, but the governor said no."

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Republican members of the building commission complained that Evers was plowing ahead without considering other ideas or concerns from GOP lawmakers. 

"I am very uncomfortable with the concept of, I mean, the project before us would reduce capacity by 700 beds in an already-stretched-beyond-capacity system that is dangerously unsafe in areas," said State Sen. André Jacque (R-De Pere).

What it means for Waupun

Dig deeper:

The $15 million approved on Tuesday would begin the design phase at six facilities. Waupun Correctional Institution is atop the list.

"Here in Waupun, our biggest thing is we just want to keep the prison here and keep the prison open," said Rohn Bishop, the city’s mayor.

Eight inmates have died at the Waupun prison since 2023. Reform advocates Wisdom Wisconsin have long called for the facility’s closure and say the governor’s plan does not do enough quickly enough.

"It's an important start when both Democrats and Republicans are agreeing that GBCI should be closed down, and it should've been closed down 20 years ago," said Mark Rice. "The timeline is just too slow."

Construction timeline

What's next:

It's still years from breaking ground. Wisconsin DOC documents show a timeline of construction beginning in 2027.

The entire plan, once fully enacted, would take six years to complete – and would likely cost about $1 billion. Evers is not seeking a third term next year, so it would be up to the next governor to either continue with his plan or go in a different direction.