CCA in Youngstown toured by Federal Bureau of Prisons

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The Northeast Ohio Correctional Center is still in the running to land a contract they've been holding for nearly a decade.
If the privately owned prison successfully keeps the contract, the facility will continue to house about 1,500 FEDERAL inmates. If the facility loses the contract, the bulk of its inmate population will be shifted to a prison out of state, and the facility will be forced to eliminate about 400 jobs.
"Obviously, the city would lose income tax revenue from the employees of that facility. Most importantly though, the employees that work there would lose a lot of their personal revenue and earnings," said Youngstown's mayor, John McNally.
As part of the process to determine where the inmates will be housed, officials with the Federal Bureau of Prisons toured the Youngstown facility and took an environmental assessment.
"This facility has been operating for almost a decade on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. So, we're very confident on the quality of the institution and the quality of the services, but we'll have to wait until September for those findings," said Steven Owen, with Corrections Corporation of America.
Shortly after those findings are released, the Bureau of Prisons is expected to award the contracts.
The Youngstown facility has already received support from local, state and federal elected officials on both sides of the political line.
But Mayor McNally added more support is needed, "It's just going to continue to take people writing letters, and making phone calls and sending emails, like any other good lobbying effort that takes place."
For more information and to submit a letter voicing your opinion, click here.