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37-580: The Folk Nation was formed on November 11, 1978, within the confines of the Stateville Correctional Center . Larry Hoover , the chairman of the Gangster Disciple Nation, created the idea for the alliance and persuaded many leaders of large black, white, and Latino gangs from Chicago to join. Folk Nation was created to protect and counter from People Nation invading neighborhoods. All gangs that are members of

74-478: A Level 1 facility; the highest of eight security level designations. There is also a minimum security unit commonly referred to as the Stateville Farm, which is a Level 7 facility, located within the new Northern Reception Center, located just south of the main facility. The Northern Reception Center (NRC), accepts incoming prisoners from the county jails in the northern two-thirds of the state. Stateville

111-476: A daily population of around 3,416 inmates. The racial breakdown is 62% black, 28% white, and 9% Hispanic. Of the inmates housed at Menard, 51% are incarcerated for murder, 21% have life sentences, and 33% are serving more than 20 years. The average age of inmates at Menard is 34 years old. By 1931, Menard was one of three sites in Illinois where executions were carried out by electrocution. Between 1928 and 1962,

148-555: A gang symbol) their symbols. Stateville Correctional Center 41°34′43″N 88°05′40″W  /  41.57861°N 88.09444°W  / 41.57861; -88.09444 Stateville Correctional Center ( SCC ) is a maximum security state prison for men in Crest Hill, Illinois , United States, near Chicago . It is a part of the Illinois Department of Corrections . Opened in 1925, Stateville

185-402: A ratio of roughly 1 to 20. By 1931, the inmate population had risen to 2,285 with four yard offices and 130 guards, or approximately one guard for every 17 inmates. Of the 2,285 inmates, 1,844 were white and 441 were black. In 1928, Menard owned 1,100 acres (4.5 km ) of farmland outside the grounds. The farm included a dairy and a piggery that contributed to the prison diet. The root cellar

222-406: A scale of justice. The entranceway has two stone lions. Christie Thompson and Joe Shapiro of The Marshall Project wrote that the exterior "looks more like an ornate university building than a maximum-security facility. In 1928, the prison suffered from massive overcrowding. Designed to hold 800 men, the institution had approximately 2,000. Thus, an additional five cages were built on each side of

259-727: A symbol known as the Third World (digit 3 within a circle with a horizontal curved line through the center) representing the power, solidarity and ubiquity of the third world proletariat, the digit 4 (used by Insane Two-Two Nation and the Almighty Harrison Gent Nation), the digit 7 (used by the Almighty Imperial Gangster Nation), the digit 8 (used by the Insane Ashland Viking Nation), the number 13 (used by

296-631: Is 34 years old. Each inmate's average annual cost totals, as of fiscal year 2018, $ 27,364. As of 2006, Menard Correctional Center has a total of 2,600 acres (11 km ), 41 of which are inside the grounds. The grounds are composed of six housing units. The South Lowers Housing Unit and the South Uppers Housing Unit house inmates with moderate aggression levels and those who currently have job assignments (though they closed for repairs in October 2018). The North I Cell House contains

333-410: Is located 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Joliet, Illinois (16830 IL Route 53 Crest Hill, IL 60403; (815) 727-3607), on a site of over 2,200 acres (8.9 km ), of which 64 acres (26 ha) are surrounded by a 33-foot (10 m) concrete perimeter with 10 wall towers. Stateville is often confused with the former Joliet Correctional Center , which closed in 2002. Located in the nearby city of Joliet,

370-656: The electric chair was used 18 times here for those sentenced to death in the southern counties of the state. The state's other electrocutions were carried out at the Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill and at the Cook County Jail in Chicago . Prior to the January 11, 2003, commutation of death row sentences, male death row inmates were housed in Menard, Pontiac , and Tamms correctional centers. After

407-598: The Administration Building. A wall enclosed the 11½ acres of the prison grounds. The rear wall runs over the top of a hill that was one of the prison's rock quarries. Menard also had a quarry outside the walls. All the original buildings were constructed by prison labor. The original North and South Cell Houses each contained 400 cells on four tiers. Inmates lived two to a cell. None of these cells had plumbing. Buckets were used instead. The exterior includes columns, an awning portraying skeleton keys and

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444-737: The Alton prison was replaced by the Joliet Correctional Center and closed. Twenty years later, the Southern Illinois Penitentiary opened, taking prisoners from the southern counties of the state. It was established in 1878, overlooking the Mississippi River. It accepted 200 prisoners the next year. The original buildings were finished by 1889, consisting of the North and South Cell Houses and

481-704: The Folk Nation represent their allegiance by utilization of the Star of David , the digit 6, the Roman numeral VI, and a die with six dots visible. Most gangs under the Disciple moniker use horns, a devil's tail, a pitchfork, a horned heart, and a winged heart. Other prominent symbolism of Folk gangs include the digit 2 (used by the Insane Deuce Nation and Insane Two-Two Nation), the digit 3, three dots,

518-718: The Gangster Disciple Nation), a six point crown (represents entire Folk Nation though modern usage is typically by the Insane Gangster Satan Disciple Nation), numerous cross variants, and the number 360, "360°" or phrase "360 degrees", usually used to refer to their international presence (360 degrees around the globe) though it has other meanings within Folk literature. Folk gangs also disrespect People Nation gangs by inverting or "cracking" (adding crack marks to or removing half of

555-752: The Milwaukee King Nation), the Playboy bunny (used by all Gangster Familia nations excluding the Gangster Disciple Nation along with the Boss Pimp Nation), a cane (used by the Almighty Harrison Gent Nation and the Latin Jiver Nation), a top hat (used by the Almighty Harrison Gent Nation and the Latin Jiver Nation), a crown with seven rounded steps (used by Almighty Imperial Gangster Nation, sometimes

592-890: The Protective Custody Unit. Within the grounds are also the Inmate Dining Hall, Chapel, Health Care Unit, Receiving and Classification Unit, Education Building, Maintenance and Telecommunications Departments, Menard Division of Illinois Correctional Industries, and Randolph Hall, which acts as Menard's training complex for prison employees. Inmates who are illiterate attend school. Other inmates can enroll voluntarily. Menard had courses for elementary schooling and several high school subjects. The current industries at Menard include meat processing, knitting and sewing, manufacturing of floor care and cleaning products, waste removal, and recycling operations. Menard, as of 2006, employs approximately 854 prisoners. It has

629-561: The State announced plans to temporarily close the prison, demolish it, and construct a new facility on the grounds. Menard Correctional Center Menard Correctional Center , known prior to 1970 as Southern Illinois Penitentiary , is an Illinois state prison located in the town of Chester in Randolph County, Illinois . It houses maximum-security and high-medium-security adult males. The average daily population as of 2007

666-681: The Stateville Correctional Center between September 1990 and January 1998. In March 1998, the site of executions was moved 305 miles (491 km) southwest to the Tamms Correctional Center in Tamms, Illinois. On March 9, 2011, Governor Pat Quinn signed legislation ending capital punishment in the state of Illinois. Today the prison holds an average of over 3,500, at an annual cost of over $ 32,000 per prisoner. Stateville's 1,300 employees make it

703-497: The Step-Down Unit, and General Population. The North II Cell House contains inmates in disciplinary segregation, administrative detention, and the general population. The East Cell House is heavily monitored. Inmates assigned here are classified as either Level E, High, or Moderate escape risk. The West Cell House holds inmates that are either high or moderate escape risk and are classified as High Aggressive Inmates, as well as

740-632: The United States in the 1990s. The roundhouse was closed in late 2016 but the structure will remain standing due to its historical significance. A duplicate of the prison, the Presidio Modelo , opened in Cuba in 1936, but has since been abandoned. In 2009 a 40-year-old man from Chicago , Richard Conner, murdered a 37-year-old Will County man named Jameson Leezer, who had originated from Lisle and Bolingbrook . Both were inmates placed in

777-457: The bathhouse was located in the basement of one of the old buildings. It contained 76 showers. By 1931, the baths were relocated to the basement of the commissary, containing 84 concrete showers. Throughout this time, inmates were given time to bathe once a week during the winter and twice a week in the summer. In 1927, of the 484 inmates who arrived at the prison, 406 were white, and 78 were black. By 1928, there were 1974 inmates and 96 guards,

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814-438: The cell house corridors. These cages, which housed two men each, had a center wall of steel with the top and sides consisting of iron bars. Old buildings within the prison yard were also being used as dormitories, housing prisoners until around 1930 when a new cell house was built to combat the excessive inmate population. The new cell house contained 500 cells, each housing two inmates. All of these cells had plumbing. In 1928,

851-433: The commissary and held a guard hostage for sixteen hours. In May 1974, sixty inmates held four guards hostage, this time demanding congregation rights in the prison yard and several changes in administrative procedures. In March 1994, Menard was in the news when 24-year-old Michael Blucker took the state to court after contracting HIV while in the prison. Blucker stated that prison staff helped gang members rape him. Although

888-606: The commutations, only Pontiac continued to hold death row prisoners. The first Illinois penitentiary was founded in Alton, the Alton Military Prison , in 1833. Reformer Dorothea Dix visited the site and was sharply critical of the filthy conditions there in an 1847 address to the Illinois General Assembly. She noted, among many other things, that Alton was the only prison in the U.S. where inmates were made to stand while eating meals. In 1858,

925-734: The electric chair was housed at the Joliet Correctional Center. The state's other electrocutions were carried out at the Menard Correctional Center in Chester and at the Cook County Jail in Chicago . In July 1977, capital punishment was reinstated in Illinois. On September 8, 1983, the state adopted lethal injection as the default method of execution in Illinois, but the electric chair remained operational to replace lethal injection if needed. Eleven executions were carried out by lethal injection at

962-615: The farm grew to 1,500 acres (6.1 km ) and brick manufacturing and the machine shop were added to the prison's major industries. In 1897, Illinois adopted indeterminate sentencing. By 1931, eighty percent of the inmates were serving indeterminate sentences. In 1903, a "grade system" was adopted for inmates. This lasted until 1920, when the "progressive Merit System" was adopted. Using this system, "good time" could be awarded to or taken from inmates based on their behavior. In addition, inmates were divided into grades, A, B, C, D, and E, based on behavior. The disciplinary staff, consisting of

999-549: The former Joliet Prison is much older and smaller. It is located about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) southeast of Stateville on the corner of Woodruff Rd. and Collins St., across the Illinois and Michigan Canal . In May 2021, the Illinois Department of Corrections called for Stateville to be converted from a Level 1 maximum security facility to a multi-level facility focused on returning inmates to society. In March 2024,

1036-402: The juries found the staff not to be liable, the case uncovered problems of sexual assault and gang activities within the prison. There were two deaths of prisoners who were housed in solitary confinement with other prisoners inside their cells. Around 2004, 28-year-old Corey Fox, who was serving a life sentence for murder, killed 22-year-old Joshua Daczewitz, a person from a Chicago suburb who

1073-470: The prisoners an ultimatum. There had been a previous uprising on September 22. A month later, prisoners took a prison lieutenant and six guards as hostages when a more serious riot broke out. Stevenson, backed up by between 100 and 200 state troopers , stood inside the prison yard and delivered the ultimatum over the prison public address system. He said, "We are going into the cells with state police armed with guns and with whatever force necessary." while

1110-448: The same solitary confinement cell together. The killing made the state of Illinois change its rules in housing two prisoners together during solitary confinement; the prison authorities now must take into account both inmates' histories of violence. Stateville Correctional Center was one of three sites in which executions were carried out by electrocution in Illinois. The electric chair was first used at Stateville in 1949. Prior to that

1147-402: The state troopers fired shots into the cell blocks held by the prisoners before entering the parts of the prison under the control of the rioters. All seven guards were recovered unharmed. In the 1970s, a significant increase in inmate population, not only at Menard but also around the country, may have been the cause of two incidents during that time. In May 1973, thirty-eight inmates took over

Folk Nation - Misplaced Pages Continue

1184-500: The warden and his deputies, decided on promotions and demotions in grade levels. For example, men in grades A and B were allowed to write two letters a week. Those in C could only write once a week. D and E inmates could only write with special permission. Silence was mandatory in the mess hall and in marching lines. Smoking was permitted in the cells and dormitories. The prison commissary, around 1930, allowed inmates to buy tobacco, candy, toilet articles, canned goods, and fruit. No limit

1221-514: Was campaigning for president as the Democratic Party nominee. Prison guards were taken hostages during the riot, which began on October 27. One of the demands of the 399 prisoners engaged in the riot was to speak to the governor, and Stevenson left the campaign trail to negotiate with the prisoners. He was given credit for ending the riot when he appeared at the prison on October 31, backed up by an overwhelming show of force, and delivered

1258-566: Was 3,410. Menard Correctional Center opened in March 1878; it is the second oldest operating prison in Illinois, and, by a large margin, the state's largest prison. Menard once housed death row; however, on January 10, 2003, the Condemned Unit closed when then Governor George Ryan granted clemency to all Illinois death row inmates. It is a part of the Illinois Department of Corrections . Menard Correctional Center's average prisoner age

1295-491: Was built to accommodate 1,506 inmates. Parts of the prison were designed according to the panopticon concept proposed by the British philosopher and prison reformer, Jeremy Bentham . Stateville's "F-House" cellhouse, commonly known as a "roundhouse", has a panopticon layout which features an armed tower in the center of an open area surrounded by several tiers of cells. F-House was the only remaining "roundhouse" still in use in

1332-401: Was one of the largest and most intricately designed of any institution at the time. All industries within the prison were housed in the old buildings that, by 1928, had been renovated to provide better working conditions. The major industries included clothing manufacturing, a quarry, and farming. The products were sold on the open market; however, no compensation was awarded to inmates. By 1931,

1369-431: Was set on the purchases. Around 1930, punishment involved a loss of privileges. For more serious offenses, the men are put in punishment cells, large cells located in a building to the rear of the deputies' offices. For some offenses, men were cuffed to the bars during working hours. By 1931, this practice was discontinued. In late October 1952, Menard experienced a prison riot , while Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson

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