Senator Gomez Named to Correctional Consolidation Commission
State Senator Adam Gomez (D-Springfield) announced today that he has been appointed by Senate President Karen E. Spilka to serve on the legislative Special Commission on Correctional Consolidation and Collaboration, established by the legislature in the FY25 State Budget. Composed on 9 voting members and 11 nonvoting members, the commission is tasked with studying the correctional system and examining opportunities for collaboration and consolidation among the department of correction, the county sheriffs, the parole board and the office of community corrections.
Gomez, a proponent of criminal justice reform and co-sponsor of an act establishing a jail and prison construction moratorium, had this to say on the selection, “I am grateful to the Senate President for this appointment as I’ve long championed the idea that we can cut costs and improve outcomes for our prison population. I look forward to working with the Chairs, Senator William Brownsberger and Representative Daniel Hunt, to find solutions to the varying problems facing our incarceration system.”
The commission shall develop a list of alternatives to the distribution of responsibilities and oversight of facilities and shall consider any positive and negative impacts of each alternative. In developing alternatives, the commission shall: (i) consider the long-term fiscal sustainability of the facilities and recognize the need to reduce the cost to taxpayers of maintaining and operating facilities below capacity; (ii) recognize the need to provide safe and humane facilities for incarcerated persons; (iii) preserve flexibility to respond in a cost-effective manner to changes in incarceration levels; (iv) recognize the importance of evidence-based rehabilitative programming for incarcerated persons; (v) recognize the value of community-integrated reentry support services; (vi) recognize the advantages of local facilities for pretrial confinement and short incarcerations; (vii) recognize the advantages of local facilities in supporting family and community connections; (viii) recognize the value of existing facilities and other investments; (ix) recognize the need for increasing regional collaboration; (x) recognize the unique roles of sheriffs in varying urban and rural regions; (xi) recognize the unique issues posed by incarcerating female and LGTBQ+ populations; (xii) recognize the importance of addressing the social determinants of health in reentry services; (xiii) recognize the role that community organizations play in reentry services; and (xiv) recognize the alternative needs that county sheriffs may address.
The commission shall submit a written report of its findings with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the senate and house committees on ways and means and the joint committee on public safety and homeland security not later than September 30, 2026.