As the state continues to move ahead with plans to tear down two prisons and rebuild them, leaders at the Department of Corrections are facing questions about the process.

Republican State Rep. Don DeWitte at a recent field hearing was looking for a commitment to make sure if the prison is closed and torn down that it would be rebuilt.

IDOC leaders at the meeting said Stateville prison is critical to the IDOC mission and will be rebuilt. The prison was built in 1925 and officials say is well past its useful life.