The Illinois Department of Corrections has hired 135 new correctional officers after the cadets completed six weeks of training.

Department spokeswoman Stacey Solano says the new officers will replace some of the 206 employees who've left the job during the current fiscal year.

Solano says the number of guards leaving is down from the same point last year, when 343 had left.

As of last week, Illinois had 6,669 guards, which is down 30 from the total at the same time last year.

The latest class of cadets began training at the Corrections Department's headquarters in Springfield on Oct. 1. In the end, 15 women and 120 men finished the training. Their base salary is just more than $42,000 per year.