IDOC Southern Region Training Academy already making a difference

The Illinois Department of Corrections has entered into an agreement with John A. Logan College in Carterville to make the college its Southern Region Training Academy, which will accommodate an additional 100 trainees per cadet class. 

The idea for establishing regional training academies came out of the AFSCME- IDOC Standing Committee and the Joint Committee on Recruitment, Hiring and Retention. Those committees pressed IDOC to make it easier for cadets to enter the academy by establishing regional training sites closer to where recruits live.  

Another location has been identified in Morris, which will serve as the training pipeline for northern Illinois prisons, and is expected to be operational soon. 

Understaffing is one of the biggest problems confronting AFSCME members in IDOC. The department says it wants to hire more staff but has difficulty recruiting new hires; among the barriers to recruiting enough cadets is the time away from home the academy requires. 

Cadets entering the academy in Decatur often must travel great distances, meaning that they need to stay overnight for six weeks. For some, that means being away from family responsibilities. In a lot of cases, that’s a dealbreaker. 

Adding a southern training site is already making a difference.

Rick Hepp, the president of AFSCME Local 1175 at Menard Correctional Center, said one cadet bound for the Decatur facility had to drop out after his wife was diagnosed with a serious health issue. He couldn’t risk being away from her for six weeks.

Instead, the union was able to secure him a place at the new Southern Region Training Academy in Carterville, meaning he can commute to the academy every day and still be home every night to care for his wife.

“I believe you’re going to see more and easier recruitment now that they have options and they can go home every day,” Hepp said. “It’s closer for a lot of them. It’s got ‘plus’ all over it.”

Over the years, Hepp said he’s seen many cadets drop out of the academy due to the strain from being away for six weeks puts on their home life and relationships. 

“This is a powerful new tool for us,” he said.”