PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The closure of Green Bay Correctional Institution could become a reality.
In laying out his agenda for 2026, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers urged legislators to make it happen.
For decades, some Northeast Wisconsin lawmakers have been calling for the closure of GBCI — one of the oldest prisons in the state. And now, it might actually come to fruition.
“GBCI has finally been recognized by the entire Legislature and the governor as a top priority for closure,” State Rep. David Steffen of Howard said Wednesday.
Evers called on lawmakers to take advantage of the $15 million in funding allocated in the current state budget to study and plan for reform and improvements to the Wisconsin prison system, including closing GBCI.
On Monday, the governor said, “We have to get this across the finish line. I encourage the Legislature to continue to work with my administration to build consensus on enumerating all the necessary building projects, making statutory changes and policy reforms that fully realize the facility realignment in the DOC.”
Steffen says for the first time, Republicans and Democrats, along with state Department of Corrections officials and architects, are sitting at the same table, examining data and reports on how to move forward with Wisconsin prisons.
As part of that, they’re working on how best to handle the 1,100 GBCI inmates that would be displaced with the prison’s closure, which officials want to be complete by the end of 2029.
Steffen said, “There’s a variety of different things we’re looking at, including expanding other facilities, creating a couple smaller ones that are specialized that relate to geriatric care and those inmates who have severe persistent mental health issues, as well as trying to work with some of our county jails to be a source for those individuals who are in the final months of their incarceration.”
Evers is asking for a resolution before the end of the current legislative session, and Steffen says they are working daily to figure it out.
If a deal isn’t reached, Steffen said the Legislature could hold a special session to address the prison issue.
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