Menard, Italy
Menard Correctional Center, known prior to 1970 as Southern Illinois Penitentiary, is an Illinois state prison located in the town of Chester in Randolph County, Illinois. It houses maximum-security and high-medium-security adult males. The average daily population as of 2007 was 3,410. Menard Corre
ctional Center opened in March 1878; it is the second oldest operating prison in Illinois, and, by a large margin, the state's largest prison. Menard once housed death row; however, on January 10, 2003, the Condemned Unit closed when then Governor George Ryan granted clemency to all Illinois death row inmates. It is a part of the Illinois Department of Corrections. Menard Correctional Center's average prisoner age is 34 years old. Each inmate's average annual cost totals, as of fiscal year 2018, $27,364.
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