A community near Carbondale is in the running for a new medium security prison which could create hundreds of job opportunities in the area, an Illinois Department of Corrections spokesman said.

Pinckneyville, a town of about 3,400 located in Perry County about 30 miles northeast of Carbondale, is one of five finalists for a medium security prison, Brian Fairchild, a department spokesman said.

Fairchild said department officials will make a decision on the matter within a week. This will not be the final decision, however. It will only be a recommendation to Gov. Jim Edgar, who has the power to give the final go-ahead for the site, Fairchild said.

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If approved, the $465 million project will bring about 400 new jobs to the area, Fairchild said. He said the facility would house about 1,800 inmates.

Ill. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, along with area residents, gave their proposal for the site last week at Rend Lake Community College.

This is something I pushed hard for, Bost said.

Bost added that if the prison becomes a reality, it would bring job opportunities back to our area that were lost from the coal mine as well as bring an economic boost to surrounding communities.

Other communities still being considered for the site are Savanna, Marshall, Decatur and Grayville.

Although Fairchild said Pinckneyville has a one-in-five chance of getting the prison, Bost said he thinks Pinckneyville has an excellent chance for several reasons.

He said there is strong opposition to the project in Decatur which may hurt that city’s chances for obtaining the prison.

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He also said the unemployment numbers teamed with the strong credentials people in the area have for prison jobs boost Pinckneyville’s chance for being chosen.

When you look at the unemployment numbers, they show it (the prison) should be in Perry County, Bost said.

The county’s economy has suffered tremendously since coal mines in the area closed after environmental regulations eliminated demand for high-sulfur coal. Its unemployment rate has been listed among the worst five counties since August of 1989, according to state records.

Fairchild said Pinckneyville was chosen as a finalist because of strong community support and a solid infrastructure that could handle such a project.

Community endorsement came out in strong numbers Saturday when city officials held a rally to drum up support for the project.

At least 500 people attended the rally held in a junior high school gymnasium. Of the at least 50 people who spoke at the rally, only two were against the prison.

Bost said such support is necessary for Pinckneyville to get the prison

They don’t build prisons where people don’t want them, he said.

A medium security prison can house a variety of criminals from tax-evaders to murderers, Fairchild said. Prison administrators look at an inmate’s behavior in prison, not just the crime committed, to determine where a particiular criminal belongs, he said.

He said the project is the main piece of a proposal by Edgar for 4,800 new inmate beds to help remedy prison overcrowding.

We need space desperately, Fairchild said. Almost the whole system is double-celled, and that can have drastic consequences.

The lack of space is the result of an Illinois prison population that tripled over the past decade, he said.