TAMMS, IL - An Alexander County judge has agreed to extend through the end of August a halt of inmate transfers from the Tamms supermax prison that the governor seeks to close.
 
Judge Charles Cavaness' move came after attorneys for the state and a union representing workers at the Tamms Correctional Center in Alexander County agreed to the extension until an August 31 hearing.
 
Governor Pat Quinn has sought to close the state's only supermax prison at Tamms, a women's lockup at Dwight and various other corrections sites. Quinn says the Tamms prison is underused and too expensive.
 
While opposing the Tamms closure, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees asked the judge to order the state to stop inmate transfers until the union is certain it can be done safely.