U.S. Census Bureau / Demographics
TerraServer / Aerial Photo
Chester, IL / Community Profile / Current News
Prison Talk / Illinois Forum
{{ Menard Correctional Center }}
Opened: March 1878
Capacity: 1,938
Level 1: Maximum-Security Adult Male
Level 3: High Medium-Security Male
Average Daily Population: 3,315
Total Average Daily Population: 3,315
Average Age: 34
Average Annual Cost Per Inmate: $19,190.00
Business Mail:
711 Kaskaskia Street
P.O. Box 711
Menard, IL 62259
Phone: (618) 826-5071
Inmate Mail:
711 Kaskaskia Street
P.O. Box 711
Menard, IL 62259
The Menard Correctional Center was established adjacent to the City of Chester on the banks of the Mississippi River in 1878. It is the second oldest prison in Illinois and the state's largest maximum-security facility. Menard was originally designed to house 1,460 maximum-security males.
Highlights
On Jan. 10, 2003, the former governor granted clemency for all Illinois death row inmates. Therefore, Menard Correctional Center closed the Condemned Unit and converted it into a general population cellhouse.
The Industries Department of Menard Correctional Center had a net profit of $1,072,934 on sales of more than $4.1 million. This is far beyond the goals that were set.
{ Prison Resources }
PRISON TALK // FACILITIES // ESSAYS // ORGANIZATIONS //
PRISON-INDUSTRIAL-COMPLEX // IN THE NEWS // BOOKS & PEOPLE //
AUDIO // COLLECTIONS OF PRISON LINKS // LEGAL RESOURCES //
GOVERNMENT & STATISTICS // MISC
{ PRISON TALK }
Prison Talk >> Prisoner Family Support, Information & Assistance >> General Forums
Illinois Forum >> Illinois Prison Profiles / Illinois News & Events / Illinois DOC - What You Need to Know / Illinois Prison Visitation / Illinois Prison Phones, Packages & Mail / Illinois Prisons Lockdown Status Watch
{ ESSAYS / PRISONS IN ILLINOIS }
"The Color and Geography of Prison Growth in Illinois" / by Paul Street
"Starve the Racist Prison Beast" / by Paul Street
"Race, Place, and the Perils of Prisonomics" / by Paul Street
"The Political Consequences Of Racist Felony Disenfranchisement" / by Paul Street
"Census dollars bring bounty to prison towns" / The Chicago Reporter
"Prisons and Southern Illinois" / Illinois Labor Market Review
"Throughout Southern Illinois: Mines Move Out as Prisons Move In" / Illinois Labor Market Review
"Hard Time" / Illinois Issues
"Scrutinizing the Supermax" / SIUC Perspectives
"A SORRY EXCUSE FOR A DECENT LIVING: How Rural Illinois Has Staked its Revival on Prison Growth" / The Next American City
"Drugs and Disparity: The Racial Impact of Illinois' Practice of Transferring Young Drug Offenders to Adult Court"
"Jail Overcrowding and Understaffing" / Chicago Tribune
"Maximum Insecurity: Illinois Prisons in Crisis" / AFSCME Council 31 / January 2006
"Failing Grade: The decline in educational opportunities for Illinois prison inmates" / Campaign for Responsible Priorities
Chicago Urban League / Research & Planning Department
"The Vicious Circle: Race, Prison, Jobs, and Community in Chicago, Illinois and the Nation" / Chicago Urban League
"A Portrait of Prisoner Reentry in Illinois" / The Justice Policy Center