Gov. Tony Evers announced sweeping reforms to Wisconsin’s Department of Corrections (DOC) Friday, including closing Green Bay Correctional Institution (GBCI) and expanding capacity for the current release program for nonviolent individuals, aiming to improve public safety and reduce taxpayer costs.
“Wisconsin is decades behind in how we think about corrections,” Evers said at a press conference. “We can improve public safety by reducing recidivism, improve our facilities, implement evidence-based practices to expand access to treatment and workforce training and still save Wisconsinites’ taxpayer dollars.”
Wisconsin has an unsustainable, skyrocketing prison population, and the corrections system puts a strain on the state’s resources, Evers said. Additionally, Wisconsin spends more than most states on corrections, and more than all neighboring Midwest states, according to a 2023 Wisconsin Policy Forum report.
Urging Republicans and Democrats to work together to get this plan passed in the next biennial budget, Evers announced a “domino series” of facility changes and proposed two policy changes to decrease chances individuals will reoffend. The package to improve adult facilities is estimated to cost over $300 million.
Evers’ domino series of facility changes
Under Evers’ plan, Waupun Correctional Institution (WCI) would convert into a “state-of-the-art,” medium-security facility as the state’s first “vocational village.” WCI would temporarily close for renovations, be ready to open in 2031 and is estimated to cost $245.3 million.
A vocational village highlights the workforce and works to ensure individuals have resources to help them become contributing members of society once they serve their time, the Evers administration said.
“We know these individuals who are given the skills that allow them to work a family supported job are more likely to succeed in the community and less likely to return to our care,” DOC Secretary Jared Hoy said at the conference. “If we are successful, these individuals can help fulfill Wisconsin’s need for skilled labor and literally build our communities.”
GBCI, one of the state's oldest institutions, would close under Evers’ plan in spring 2029, costing $6.3 million. To accommodate its closure, the DOC would increase bed capacity and workforce opportunity in Brown County.
Additionally, construction to complete Dane County Type 1 facility for youth, costing $130.7 million, would allow Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake schools to close. These schools would then be converted into a 500-bed medium-custody institution for men, costing $9 million.
Stanley Correctional Institution would convert into a maximum-security institution able to “flex” into a medium-custody institution, costing $8.8 million, and John Burke Correctional Center would convert into a female institution, adding 300 beds for women and no costs.
Policy changes
Evers’ first policy change would expand capacity for the current release program for non-assault offenses or nonviolent incarcerated individuals within 48 months of their scheduled release. Second, Evers will also prompt those working to overcome substance abuse treatment for drugs and alcohol.
“This will enable those individuals in our care to earn time [and] practice participating in job and vocational readiness program that gets them ready to join our workforce when they are released,” Evers said. “Ultimately saving taxpayers about $40,000 per person every year once those inmates are released.”
All changes proposed can be done at around a quarter of the price of building a new prison and in a shorter time frame of about five to six years, according to Hoy.
“Safety is at the heart of these proposals,” Hoy said. “It is a comprehensive and cohesive plan to address long standing issues within our correctional system while investing taxpayer dollars wisely.”
Clara Strecker is a copy chief for The Daily Cardinal. She also covers state news.
