Gov. Evers plan to overhaul prison buildings moves forward

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ sweeping plan to overhaul Wisconsin’s aging prison system, which includes closing a prison built in the 1800s, moved forward Tuesday with bipartisan support despite complaints from Republican lawmakers that their concerns weren’t being addressed. A bipartisan subcommittee of the state building commission approved spending $15 million to proceed with planning for the Evers proposal.  The building commission’s approval on Tuesday for spending the $15 million in planning money would start that process. The entire plan, once fully enacted, would take six years to complete and likely cost about $1 billion. Evers is not seeking a third term next year, so it would be up to the next governor to either continue with his plan or go in a different direction. The multitiered proposal starts with closing Lincoln Hills and Cooper Lake juvenile correctional facilities in northern Wisconsin, and building a new one near Madison at the site of a current minimum security prison. The Lincoln Hills campus would then be converted into a medium security adult prison. The prison in Green Bay would be closed and Waupun Correctional Center would be converted from a medium to a maximum-security prison. The prison in Hobart would be expanded to add 200 minimum security beds.