Pontiac Prison

Pontiac residents and community leaders are worried. The Illinois Department of Corrections moved 171 medium-security inmates from the Pontiac Correctional Center to other prisons early this year, and the fear is the rest of the prison built in the 1870s will shut down, too.

The Illinois Department of Corrections is denying claims of black mold at the prison in Pontiac, where some inmates have been moved.

The state agency that runs Illinois prisons said it wants to cut the inmate capacity at the Pontiac Correctional Center by more than half. That comes as the aging facility in Livingston County has infrastructure needs and as the overall state prisoner population is falling.

State lawmakers are going public with concerns about the future of the prison in Pontiac and another in Vandalia in southern Illinois.

Three correctional officers at Pontiac prison face criminal charges after allegedly injuring an inmate earlier this month, authorities said…