LANSING —Wackenhut Corrections Corporation of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, will manage Michigan’s first privatized prison facility now under construction in Baldwin (Lake County). The private company promises to operate the facility (called a "punk prison" by Governor Engler because it will house and treat violent juvenile offenders) for at least 25% less than what the state would pay to do the same job.
Normally, the state pays between $93 and $95 a day for adults in security classifications similar to those in the planned punk prison. Wackenhut will be paid $67.50 per day for each of the 480 inmates.
The new prison will be a boost for Lake County, where the unemployment rate is twice that for the state as a whole.
