Registration for this tour will close Wednesday, October 30th
Attendees will be required to provide their name and date of birth to allow for a pre-tour security check. Portions of this tour will involve walking outside.
No bags, purses, smart watches allowed (e.g: Fitbit, Apple Watch). Attendees should minimize person items such as jewelry, non prescription glasses, large amounts of cash.
Learn about the lean/rapid results program at the Illinois Department of Correction in Sheridan, Illinois. Attendees will learn how the facility has saved taxpayer dollars through various lean and sustainability initiatives, including an on-site, 2-acre garden maintained by offenders, with garden produce saving an average of over $7000 annually. Talk with the engineering department, which is spearheading a plan to convert to low-flow shower heads, and to change all exterior/perimeter lighting to LED. Hear how the clinical service and records department has eliminated excess paperwork and streamlined filing processes. Visit the recycling collection area for all of Sheridan and the satellite recycling area in dietary. Attendees will go to the site’s clothing closet, which aims to outfit soon-to-be-released offenders with clothes they can wear to job interviews, so they are dressed for success. See the kitchen area and hear how continuous improvement initiatives in food prep and serving led to significant savings. Along with the rapid results projects at this facility, Sheridan will also talk about the statewide IDOC savings and impact of these programs that have been implemented at all facilities.
The Sheridan Correctional Center is an adult male, medium-security Illinois state prison, owned and operated by the Illinois Department of Corrections. It is dedicated to substance abuse treatment and is one of the largest such treatment programs in the nation. The extensive grounds (75 buildings on a total of 270 acres) were first opened in 1941 as a juvenile facility. It was run as the "Illinois State Reformatory at Sheridan" from 1949 through 1953, and the "Illinois Industrial School for Boys" from 1953 through 1973. In August of 1973, the site was converted into an adult facility. Sheridan’s treatment program was implemented to curb the trend in Illinois of a growing prison population, with the aim of reducing high recidivism rates of released Illinois offenders, providing men with evidenced-based substance abuse treatment services, and using the Therapeutic Community approach to equip offenders to return to drug-free, crime-free lives upon release. https://www2.illinois.gov/idoc/facilities/Pages/sheridancorrectionalcenter.aspx
