John A. Graham correctional center is a facility located in the heart of Hillsboro, Illinois, Chicago. It is operated by the Illinois department of corrections – IDOC. The facility was established in September 1980 with an initial operating capacity of 750 inmates. It is a level 4 medium-security prison that only houses male inmates. Over the years, the facility’s carrying capacity has increased to 1596 inmates. Currently, the total population of its inmates is 1328, including the members of the graham reception and classification center.
Graham Correctional Center
The Graham correctional center is a parent to the Graham reception and classification center, which sees to the intake of offenders in the region. This center also helps to classify offenders and determine if they will be relocated to a more permanent facility that suits their offenses. Sometimes the intakes are offered a long-term commitment at the graham correctional center where they are given sex offenders or drug abuse treatments.
The facility also offers academic, vocational, and industrial opportunities to its inmates. Educational courses allow inmates to earn a GED and an adult basic education. Vocational activities available include; autobody, auto mechanics, career technologies, construction occupation, and custodial maintenance. An extra tip may come in handy if inmates decide to take on industrial opportunities like furniture making, which is also available at the facility. Graham continues to offer these opportunities and encourages inmates to participate in them.
Several special populations are housed by Grahams and they get their required special treatment. Examples include inmates in kidney dialysis or cancer treatment program. The primary function of the Grahams correctional center is not to subject inmates to deprivations or to inflict as many punishments as possible, but to make sure that every inmate’s period of confinement is as productive as possible. This is why asides from providing educational and vocational opportunities for inmates, every staff of Grahams put in committed and concerted efforts to ensure that no inmate left the facility in worse physical, mental and emotional conditions than when they were first admitted.
The goal is to make them better each day and see why they should be intentional in making themselves better people in society.
Safety Measures:
Another important mission of this facility is to ensure that the surrounding communities are kept safe and secure. They ensure that people leaving around the facility do not harbor the fear of the unknown every day of their lives. Not only are the residents of Illinois kept safe, but the welfare of every staff and inmate member is also of utmost importance. The usual occurrences of staff and inmate unfair treatment have been reduced to the barest minimum by programs put in place to ensure fair treatment and foster staff-inmate relationships. The program is called the Illinois Department of the correction training academy.
The IDOC training academy:
The IDOC training academy sees the development and production of quality trained personnel in all subjects identified as imperative for the proper discharge of department responsibilities. The academy is situated in the facility’s headquarters in Springfield Illinois. Its primary focus is to equip incoming security and non-security staff with up-to-date training using technology and reality. It also provides training for existing staff members to help maintain and increase their job performance by keeping them updated and “running with the moment”. All types of training in areas like firearms, hostage negotiations, crisis intervention, and many others are effectively taught. These training are mandatory for every member of the Grahams correctional center.
Visiting Hours:
Visits to the correctional center used to be very much less difficult than what is at work now. The era of the covid-19 has streamlined the visit protocols and has made it a little bottle-neck. Offenders that are not in C-grade can be easily visited from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm seven days a week. They are only permitted seven visits per month, with strict visitor processing only before 2:30 pm. noncontact and c-grade offenders are only granted visits between the hours of 8:00 am to 2:30 pm every day, excluding weekends and holidays. It is a law that visitors of C-grade offenders come no later than 1:00 pm or else they will forfeit processing and seeing the inmate. Each offender in this category is only privileged to have 1 hour of visiting.
Visiting Grahams? Here’s What You Need To Know?
Every adult visitor must always come with their means of identification and a copy of their birth certificate.
No one under the age of 18 would be allowed to see a non-contact offender
Also, visitors must come dressed appropriately, any indecent dressing will disannul your visit, that is, no exposure of private parts for females and males.
Contrabands in the graham correctional center include every criminally offensive item. A violation of the contraband policy can lead to arrest with stiff penalties.
Conclusion:
The goal again of the Graham correctional center is to ensure that not only inmates, and staff members but also visitors and outsiders are positive and productive wherever they find themselves.
