Closing Lincoln Hills only half a plan

We can’t afford to wait any longer. Wisconsin needs to move quickly to close the state’s troubled youth prison. But more importantly, the state needs to get it right. The state Assembly was prepared to do both, but it appears partisan politics has gotten the better of the state Senate. The Senate this week will consider a plan to close the Lincoln Hills School for Boys and replace it with a series of smaller juvenile facilities throughout the state. The plan had bipartisan support, and passed unanimously. But the Senate has its own ideas. The rewritten Senate plan closes Lincoln Hills, but makes no provisions for what to do with juveniles now held there. It does nothing to repurpose Lincoln Hills, and leaves it to a future committee to decide where to house juvenile offenders. But they have to go somewhere. Simply closing Lincoln Hills is not a plan. And the clock is ticking. The Senate is expected to meet for the final time this week. Failing to approve the Assembly plan leaves open the possibility no decisions will be made this session. That means waiting until next year. The state can’t afford to wait that long. The Senate should follow the Assembly’s lead and put aside partisan politics and simply do what is right, and necessary.