Moving Green Bay Prison Not in Budget

A lawmaker from the Green Bay area says he’s disappointed that a new prison for his home community is not in the next state budget. Republican Representative David Steffen had proposed a separate bill to tear down the 119-year-old Green Bay Correctional Institution in suburban Allouez (al’oh way) and have a private firm build at a new location that the state could lease. But it would have been easier to approve the new prison as part of the massive budget package, and the Joint Finance Committee has not added it. Steffen still remains hopeful the project could be approved but he said there would be “more fingers in the pie” with all 132 Assembly and Senate members keying in on it. Allouez officials support the move, saying the current prison site could be sold to a private buyer and generate tax revenue.