(Waupun) The mayor of Waupun highlights the reasons he wants to see Waupun Correctional Institution remain open. The facility has come under scrutiny in recent months following the deaths of multiple in inmates and reports of poor conditions came to light.
Closing the prison has been floated as an idea. The governor has suggested turning the facility into a vocational village to provide those incarcerated with job training and education in skilled trades.
Mayor Rohn Bishop has been a vocal supporter of keeping the prison open and in Waupun, noting its economic impact.
“Take all of the Department of Corrections together that are in Waupun and it’s the largest employer that we have,” says Bishop. “There are three prisons plus the prison pharmacy…the prison farm…and we are not that far from Fox Lake Correctional or Taycheedah or Oshkosh for that matter.”
Bishop says the prisons have a historical connection with the city.
“I remember saying this to state legislators…I’m like, ‘you guys look at it as there’s Waupun and that’s where the prison is’…to those of us who live in Waupun it’s a part of our community,” says Bishop. “Waupun Correctional Institutional is right downtown…it’s on Madison Street. The Waupun Public Library is across the street on one side and the daycare my kids went to is one block behind it on the west side. So, it’s just a part of Waupun and a part of who we are.”
Waupun Correctional is the oldest prison in the state of Wisconsin.
