I started my career at Menard Correctional Center in January 1984. During the first 10 years I witnessed an inmate on Death Row lose his eye after getting his face crushed by another inmate who had struck him with a cast iron weight. In another instance a fellow officer had a 4-inch turkey bone buried into his throat by the very same inmate.

At one point in my career I had to wear a raincoat while working a cellhouse gallery because the inmates were throwing urine and feces at the officers there.

Situations like these were a common occurrence in those days. You may ask, "why did you stay?" The reason: I was naive enough to believe the politicians would keep their word on my retirement. You can see now what that was worth. Anyway, shortly afterward Tamms opened and everything changed for the better.

Now the left has finally managed to get their wish and close down the very facility that kept these convicted murderers and rapists of women and children from doing harm to corrections staff and their fellow inmates. Of course it's easy to be an armchair quarterback from the cheap seats when you have no skin in the game. The reality is inmates at Tamms earned their way into the facility and I'm sure many of them have not changed their violent ways.

I also wonder how this will ultimately affect both inmates and staff alike. How many innocent people will be injured or possibly die from Gov. Pat Quinn's decision?

The governor and members of the left might be cheering this decision, but I suspect many innocent people are going to pay a very heavy price for it.

Daniel Reardon

Murphysboro