MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s second-oldest prison that was built in the 1800s in Green Bay would finally be shuttered under a new plan from Gov. Tony Evers.
The plan proposes sweeping changes to the state’s correctional system without building a new prison, as some lawmakers have long called for.
Evers called for remodeling the Waupon prison into a “vocational village,” converting the troubled Lincoln Hills/Copper Lake Youth prison into an adult facility and building a new youth facility in Dane County. The roughly $500 million proposal, made public on Sunday, would be subject to approval by the Republican-controlled Legislature.
Lawmakers have backed some aspects of the plan in the past, but Republicans also have repeatedly blocked initiatives by the Democratic governor. Evers says his plan is as good as it gets.