A few weeks ago, Logan County officials held a virtual town hall to give residents the latest in the fight to keep the Logan Correction Center open.

The State of Illinois is doing a full evaluation of the facility after a needs assessment showed a total rebuild was necessary. However, a rebuild may not take place in Lincoln. Mayor Tracy Welch was a part of the town hall and wanted to message how the community can be a part of the fight to keep the facility local.

According to Mayor Welch, there is a process this all has to go through before a final decision is made on the future of Logan Correction Center. The Mayor and others will keep putting out where the process stands but he encourages everyone to stay up to date as it moves along.

The Mayor wasn't very impressed with some of the reasons for relocating the prison. The Mayor and others believe that the desire is to get the prison closer to other resources for inmates. 

Mayor Welch believes if the state is seeking to get the prison closer to other resources for the inmates, Lincoln is just as well suited to make those accommodations as anywhere.

Mayor Welch encourages residents and others to send their testimonies to COGFA during this time as they continue with the public comment period. 

There is information on how to do that on the City of Lincoln's Facebook page.