South Central Reporter

Senator Jason Plummer of Illinois' 55th District has expressed strong opposition to the housing of transgender female inmates in women's prisons, describing it as "insanity." He has called for the removal of Acting Illinois Department of Corrections Director Latoya Hughes.

"This is insanity," said Plummer, State Senator 55th District (R), according to Facebook. "Imagine if your daughter was locked up in a prison with dangerous men. What is happening in our prisons is immoral. Inmates and Illinois Department of Corrections staff are seeing elevated rates of assault and continue to see drugs and other contraband flood the system because Governor JB Pritzker's office is allowing the problems to fester. Step #1 to fixing our broken system - remove Latoya Hughes as Acting Director."

Plummer's comments followed his sharing of a report by the Sangamon Sun on Facebook. The report detailed the number of transgender inmates housed in Illinois Department of Corrections women's prisons, based on a Freedom of Information Act request. According to the report, Logan Correctional Center accommodates 56 transgender males who are biologically female, 17 nonbinary inmates, and 12 transgender females who are biologically male. The Sangamon Sun also highlighted incidents involving Janiah Monroe, a transgender inmate accused of raping multiple female inmates at Logan Correctional Center. Despite these accusations, Monroe has not been removed from the facility due to Governor J.B. Pritzker blocking the transfer—a decision later upheld by a federal court.

Screenshot of State Senator Plummer's June 16 Facebook post | State Senator Jason Plummer's Facebook page

In February, Plummer and Senator Terri Bryant argued against Latoya Hughes' nomination as director of the Illinois Department of Corrections. They cited concerns over her leadership qualifications and alleged safety failures within prison facilities. At a press conference, they claimed that Governor Pritzker prioritized politics over public policy.

Plummer further criticized Hughes and the Illinois Department of Corrections in his Facebook post: "If they are afraid to bring her to a vote in the super-majority Democrat senate, what does that tell you? The governor needs to focus on smart public policy, not politics and activists. For the sake of our IDOC staff and those inmates who are trying to serve their time and re-enter society as productive members of their community, we must fix IDOC," he wrote.

Senator Plummer has represented Illinois’ 54th Senate District since his election in 2018 and is known for advocating conservative policies for Southern Illinois constituents whom he believes have been neglected by lawmakers in Springfield.