Pinckneyville will be the site of a new $65 million medium security prison Gov. Jim Edgar announced Monday afternoon, and a local politician says this will provide an essential boost for the area’s economy.

Pinckneyville, a town of 3,400 located in Perry County about 30 miles northeast of Carbondale, was selected as the site out of five finalists selected by the Illinois Department of Corrections from a pool of 34 cities that wanted the prison.

Construction will begin next spring and the facility will begin housing its 1,800 inmates in 1998, Nic Howell, a department spokesman said.

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He said high unemployment in the area was a major factor in the decision.

The county’s economy suffered during the past several years after environmental regulations eliminated the demand for high sulfur coal mined in the area. Perry County’s unemployment rate has been listed in the worst five counties in the state since August of 1989, according to state records.

The new prison may help the situation, Howell said.

It will bring 250 construction jobs while being built and another 450 jobs to staff the facility when it opens, he said. It will have an annual budget of $20 million, and $15 million of that money will be payroll.

Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, who was with Edgar for the announcement, said the prison may be just what the area needs.

This is the victory we needed to battle the high unemployment rates in Perry County, he said in a press release.

Howell said several other reasons also led officials to choose Pinckneyville.

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Howell said Pinckneyville had an attractive incentives package. The city offered a $6 million plan that included linking utilities to the prison site. He also said the land itself was a solid location for the prison.

Howell said the area has a competent work force for prison jobs. People in Perry County have scored high on tests the department administers to evaluate applicants, he said.

Excellent community support also played a part in the choice, he said.

Despite the economic benefits of the prison, some residents expressed concern about living near 1,800 convicts at a town meeting last week. Howell said people do not need to worry about the prison.

We have never lost an inmate at a new prison in 17 years, he said.