Quinn to Propose Closing Tamms Correctional Center

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn wants to cut costs by closing a prison that opened just 14 years ago as a cutting-edge facility for the state's most dangerous inmates.

Aides said the Democrat will propose closing the "supermax" prison at Tamms in southern Illinois when he lays out his budget plan today. Also on the chopping block is the 80-year-old lockup in Dwight.

Tamms opened in 1998 to house the state's most violent prisoners. Those inmates will move to the maximum-security Pontiac Correctional Center.

Female prisoners at Dwight would be transferred to Logan prison in Lincoln.

The closures, along with a plan to shutter six centers for low-level offenders, are intended to cut spending by $100 million a year.