Auditor General Report Riles Prison Contractor

LANSING — The Michigan Information Research Service, a Lansing-based political newsletter, reported in late July that the Geo Group, a private for-profit contractor that operates the Michigan Youth Correctional Facility in Baldwin, criticized an Auditor General review of its work.

The audit was sparked by a recommendation from Gov. Jennifer Granholm that the contract with Geo Group be canceled. Geo Group spokesman Bill Nowling told MIRS that canceling the contract was effectively a gift to the Michigan Corrections Organization, a Service Employee International Union that represents state corrections workers. Nowling criticized the report for excluding important information, not addressing the value of having a youth-only facility and for neglecting the negative economic impact that closing the facility might have on Lake County. The Auditor General’s report is available online at www.audgen.michigan.gov.