Illinois Representatives from both sides of the aisle co-sponsor bill to increase safety at correctional facilities

A new Illinois bill that is being co-sponsored by candidates from both sides of the aisle is looking to add safety measures to correctional facilities across Illinois, including the East Moline Correctional Facility.

Illinois House Bill 4743 was filed by Illinois Representative Gregg Johnson, and later co-sponsored by Illinois Representative Tony McCombie. The bill amends the unified code of corrections, allowing the Department of Corrections to establish an office of workplace safety. McCombie co-sponsored the bill, just four days after Johnson filed it.

The bill has hit home for both representatives co-sponsoring the bill. “I’m not going to lie, it is somewhat personal for me,” said Johnson. “Chris was a good friend of mine.” The loss of a friend from the same union he was in, Johnson still feels the impact of his friend’s death today. “He was still there when I left,” Johnson said. “When you leave corrections or a lot of these kinds of jobs, you have a little bit of survivor’s guilt anyway.” Johnson says the reason behind the bill comes from needing more safety regulations for the Department of Corrections. “It’s a very closed environment,” Johnson said. “They tend to keep things in house, and a lot of times information on what is going on in these facilities doesn’t come out.”