In 1988 the mayor and four city council members voted on whether to welcome a federal prison that was scheduled to open in the area. 13,665 people had voted in a previous advisory referendum which had seen fewer than 1% of votes in favor of the prison. Therefore, the mayor and two council members who voted for the prison faced political backlash: the mayor and one member were defeated at re-election and another member did not run again. In 1994 the prison opened in land in far southern Pekin that had been newly annexed. The minimum security camp opened in 1994 and previously housed females. In May 2011 the female population was replaced by a male population so the federal authorities could have more space for in-house drug treatment programs for men. On the 20th anniversary of the prison's opening, Michael Smothers of GateHouse Media Illinois wrote that no significant opposition to the prison remained, and so did Mayor of Pekin Laurie Barra and the Pekin Chief of Police Greg Nelson. Smothers added that there were no protests occurring.
Facilities and operations
As of 2011 the medium security area housed about 1,200 prisoners while the minimum security facility housed about 300 prisoners. As of 1994 the FPC Pekin minimum security complex was composed of two dormitories and a central compound with classrooms, office buildings, and recreation buildings surrounded by grass. The prison did not have razor wire fences nor guard towers. Mark S. Fleisher and Jennifer A. Harrington, authors of "Freelisting: Management at a Women's Federal Prison Camp", wrote that the minimum security camp "resembles a small college campus" and "does not fit the stereotype of a prison." The prison camp population often did volunteer work around the community. When FPC Pekin housed women, there were issues as women were not permitted to do certain jobs requested by area non-profit organizations.
On the morning of November 13, 2009, 36-year-old inmate Adam Montoya was found dead in his cell at FCI Pekin. Montoya had arrived at FCI Pekin 18 days before to begin serving a 27-month sentence for check fraud. An autopsy concluded that Montoya had been suffering from cancer of the spleen, hepatitis and HIV. The immediate cause of death was internal bleeding due to a ruptured spleen, caused by the cancer. Tazewell County Coroner Dennis Conover and other experts concluded that Montoya likely exhibited blatant symptoms of hepatitis and cancer, most notably dramatic weight loss, a swollen abdomen and yellow eyes. They said that those symptoms, as well as the severe pain Montoya complained of, should have prompted staff to transport the prisoner immediately to the hospital. The Associated Press quoted Conover as stating, "He shouldn't have died in agony like that...he had been out there long enough that he should have at least died in the hospital." During Montoya's final days, he "consistently made requests to the prison for medical attention, and they wouldn't give it to him," said his father, Juan Montoya, who described how his son repeatedly punched the panic button seeking help. Three inmates corroborated that account in interviews with the Associated Press. Montoya's family filed a wrongful death and personal injury claim, which was denied by the Justice Department. A lawsuit is pending.
