MADISON -- The state Assembly has put the final stamp of approval on a plan to close Wisconsin's troubled youth prison.
The chamber passed an $80 million juvenile justice overhaul plan unanimously Thursday that calls for closing the prison outside Irma by 2021 and replacing it with smaller regional facilities. The measure now goes to Gov. Scott Walker.
The measure cleared the Assembly unanimously in February and passed the Senate unanimously on Tuesday. The bill had to come back to the Assembly for a final vote, though, because the Senate included new language that requires the Legislature's budget committee to sign off on any spending on new juvenile facilities after the youth prison closes. Both houses must pass the identical bill before it can go to the governor.
Federal investigators have been probing allegations of guards abusing inmates the prison for the past three years.
Gov. Scott Walker issued the following statement:
Youth Justice Milwaukee co-founders Sharlen Moore and Jeffery Roman released the following statement: