An industrial building inside the historic Joliet Correctional Center in Joliet, Illinois, burned to the ground earlier this week, and a juvenile was charged with starting the blaze.
The Daily Southtown reported:
Joliet police received numerous Crime Stoppers tips from a social media post Tuesday morning seeking to identify two males who were seen inside the prison yard shortly after people noticed smoke coming from one of the buildings, according to a Joliet Police Department news release. Police arrested the teen shortly after noon on Tuesday, according to the release.
The arrested juvenile had a lighter and had set some papers on fire intentionally while inside the prison grounds, Joliet police said in the release. The fire spread to nearby insulation and then spread throughout the rest of the building, Joliet police said.
The fire, fortunately, destroyed only one building. It’s a huge complex; it would take a Dante sort of inferno to burn all of it.
CBS Chicago posted brief footage of the fire itself:
Originally known as the Illinois State Penitentiary, the complex opened in 1858.
The prison has remained vacant since 2002 but is owned by the Department of Corrections. It continues to be used for television and movie productions — the most famous being the opening scene in “The Blues Brothers” movie from 1980.
CBS Chicago filed this report, which included drone footage that shows how gutted the building was by the fire.
Joliet for several years has wanted to take over ownership of the complex so it could give paid tours of the prison.
However, the buildings continue to deteriorate from neglect, making nominal rehabilitation of the structures more expensive by the year.
Joliet Correctional Center shouldn’t be confused with Stateville Correctional Center, which sits is in nearby Crest Hill, Illinois, along Illinois 53 (aka Route 66) and still is being used as a prison.
(Image of the Joliet Correctional Center in Joliet, Illinois, by JymPolranges via Flickr)
People who like to play with matches should have their fingers burned and just maybe they won’t paly with
matches anymore.