A diverse group of business, nonprofit, and education groups, including the Center for Michigan, praised recent prison closures but urged the Department of Corrections and political leaders to continue to find greater efficiences in state prison spending. A signed copy of their letter is attached. Here's what they said…

Gov. Jennifer Granholm and honorable members of the Michigan Legislature,

We support you and the Michigan Department of Corrections on making the difficult decisions to close three prisons and five camps this year.

This is an important step that will save the state millions of dollars and contribute to getting the state's financial house in order.

It is important to note that those who would be released through the prison closure strategy are already eligible for parole. The prison closures will cause layoffs and may place added burdens on local communities as paroles return home in a very challenging economy. These are regrettable tradeoffs, but the state’s dire fiscal condition requires sweeping corrections system reform.  At the same time, the state must do all it can, through the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Program, to assure smooth and productive transitions for parolees returning to society.

The announced prison closures quickly provoked criticism.  Critics, however, must face the reality of the worst budgetary crisis in memory.  Those who would argue for no accelerated paroles, no significant cuts to prison spending, or no further staffing and operations efficiencies have an obligation to explain to the public: 1) Which other state budget priorities they would sacrifice to keep whole the status quo corrections system; 2) What other cost-savings measures they would adopt to cut the corrections budget; or, 3) Which taxes they would raise to keep whole the status quo corrections system?

We're pleased the Department of Corrections is taking steps toward reform. But our message to the department, the governor, and the Legislature is "keep going."

With the reality of a budget deficit approaching $2 billion, much more must be done to bring the cost of prisons in line with state resources. Last December, we called for "long-term, sustainable reforms and cost savings in the hundreds of millions of dollars per year" and noted that growth in state spending on corrections threatens to crowd out important strategic priorities for Michigan.  We noted that state leaders could choose among hundreds of millions of dollars worth of additional well-documented reform approaches to address both Michigan sentencing guidelines and prison operations. We believe larger-scale, money-saving reforms can, and must, be achieved without compromising public safety.