Prison Shakeups: Three Wardens Fired, New Officials Named

[danielle]

PRISON SHAKEUPS: THREE WARDENS FIRED, NEW OFFICIALS NAMED

BY RICHARD GOLDSTEIN
THE SOUTHERN
[Wed Oct 01 2003]

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS -- Leadership of the region's biggest industry corrections was shaken up this week with the appointment of new wardens at four area prisons and the outright firing of three wardens.

The most prominent new face is former Jackson County Sheriff Bill Kilquist, who started Wednesday as warden at the Illinois Youth Center Murphysboro, better known as the Murphysboro boot camp.

Kilquist left his job as sheriff on Tuesday saying he wanted the new position in order to boost his pay.

Where there are winners, there are also losers.

Kilquist replaced Judy Davis, a 20-year veteran of the Illinois Department of Corrections. Since 1999, Davis has served as the boot camp's warden for juvenile offenders and had worked there since the facility opened in 1997.

The Murphysboro mother of two, including a son in college, was informed abruptly this week she was terminated. She said she received a severance package of two weeks' pay and two weeks of medical insurance. She said she has what she called "health issues" that require medical insurance. In addition to the loss of her $82,764 salary, her pension was "ruined" by her abrupt firing, Davis said.

"It's a very big blow. It's been rumored, but I never thought that the department would fire me," Davis said from her home on Wednesday.

"We serve at the pleasure of the director, but my experience has been that when things like this happen, they either demote to another position or they move you to another facility," she said. "It would have been nice to move to another position, take a demotion so that my pension and all of that hadn't been ruined."


Davis said she would soon have qualified for a pension at age 55. Because she has been fired before getting 20 years as a state employee, she won't qualify until she is 60. Part of her time working for the agency was as a contract employee, which does not count for pension purposes, Davis said.

"I have been a loyal, dependable employee. I have stepped up to the plate many times for the agency," Davis said.

Kilquist has said he is moving into the new job for more money. As sheriff, he earned a $59,000 per year salary, along with an additional $6,000 per year for also serving as director of public safety and coordinator of emergency management.

He will earn $75,000 a year as the new warden, said Corrections Department spokesman Sergio Molina. Molina could not find out Wednesday how long before Kilquist might qualify for a pension with the state.

Kilquist will receive a pension in return for more than 30 years in local law enforcement, including election to a sixth term as sheriff in November 2002.

Everyone has not been subject to the same treatment as Davis. Anthony Ramos was removed from the top job at the boot camp four years ago during former Gov. George H. Ryan's administration, while Donald N. Snyder was agency director.

Instead of being fired, a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Corrections said at the time that Ramos was transferred to a captain's position at the Menard Correctional Center in Chester.

Molina would not explain why Davis was treated differently from Ramos, a previous boot camp leader, who is a man.

"If you look at the history of the agency, there have been a number of moves at the administrative level. Some were demoted, some would have been reassigned to other duties and some were relieved of their duties," Molina said. "That's a decision that we are responsible for making when we identify the people who will be put at the helm of these facilities."

The moves are coming under Corrections Department director Roger Walker Jr., the former Macon County sheriff who is also the state's first black sheriff.

Blagojevich has made the new law he signed touting "equal work for equal pay," among men and women, a staple during stump speeches around the state.

But women faired poorly in the realignment announced Wednesday. Two women lost their jobs and one will be promoted by the administration.

After the change, Molina said four of the state's 34 adult and juvenile facilities have female wardens. He said the shakeup in Southern Illinois is not a women's issue.

"There are women that have received promotions and appointments in this agency. They come with a wealth of experience and knowledge," Molina said. "I don't think keeping score gives credit where credit is due to the professionals in the agency."

Kim Bagley, the former warden at the Shawnee Correctional Center in Vienna, was also given her walking papers this week.

She has been replaced by Terry McCann, the previous warden at the Vienna Correctional Center. McCann was replaced as warden at the Vienna Correctional Center by Jay M. Merchant, who had been a major at Vienna.

At the Pinckneyville Correctional Center, Mark Pierson was fired and replaced by Karen McKinney, the former assistant warden for programs at the Illinois Youth Center Pere Marquette.

[CET]

There is a lot discussion about their pensions and salaries in this article but you wonder why they were fired? What specific problems were there in their job performance?

[QQin4meboo]

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