Evers Says He Won’t Propose Funding For New Green Bay Prison In State Budget

Gov. Tony Evers says he won’t be proposing the construction of a new prison in Green Bay in the new state budget.

Evers told reporters on Wednesday that while building a new prison is “something we have to weigh,” he won’t be including funding to do that in the budget that he releases next week.

There is pressure on Evers to come up with a solution for Wisconsin’s overcrowded adult prisons. As of last week, there were nearly 24,000 inmates in the system that was designed to hold about 18,000. That is 32 percent over capacity.

Lawmakers, economic development officials and other leaders in the Green Bay area have been pushing for closing the century-old Green Bay Correctional Institution in Allouez and replacing it with a new prison as part of a larger redevelopment project.

Local leaders said Wednesdays they aren’t surprised by the news, but hope a new study will make the case for a new building.

Republican state Rep. David Steffen, who has been calling for a new prison for years, represents the district that includes the village of Allouez, and said Evers’ decision was no surprise. He said the state is waiting on an evaluation report that looked at all state prisons, which he expects to arrive in about a month.

Steffen, who says the Green Bay Correctional Institution is too old, said he hopes to work with Evers to get money for a new prison in the final budget.

“GBCI is the most dangerous place in the state of Wisconsin,” Steffen said. “It is also an undersized facility. It is housing 1,100 inmates when only designed for 750. We have somehow found a way to put 10 pounds in a 5-gallon bag.”

Village of Allouez administrator Brad Lange said the prison sits on a large chunk of land, which the village is short of.

“Being landlocked and we’re 97 percent developed, you look at a facility such as Green Bay Correctional sitting on 50-plus acres, as a prime opportunity to provide some regrowth in our community,” Lange said.