SPRINGFIELD - Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Friday he doesn't want to close Pontiac Correctional Center.

"That's not something I want to do," Blagojevich told reporters after cutting the ribbon to open the Illinois State Fair. "We don't want to. I don't want to."

Blagojevich, who controls the fate of the 137-year-old maximum-security lockup, for the first time linked its future to the ongoing political battle he is having with House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago.

Rather than arguing the prison is too old to keep open, Blagojevich suggested the prison could remain open if lawmakers approve more money to keep it operating.

"We need those Democrats in the House to do the responsible thing and provide funding so that decisions like that don't have to be made," Blagojevich said.

That's a switch from the administration's earlier statements about Pontiac. In May, top officials at the Illinois Department of Corrections argued that closing Pontiac and moving its inmates to the mostly unused prison in Thomson would save taxpayers $4 million.

In documents filed in connection with the proposed closing, the agency never mentions the budget battle as a reason for shuttering the nation's eighth oldest prison.

State Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa, who is fighting to keep the prison open, said linking Pontiac's future to the political wrangling with Madigan comes as no surprise.

Rutherford believes Blagojevich is trying to force the House to approve a variety of new revenue sources for the state by staging a "government calamity."

Along with causing furor by closing Pontiac, the governor also has slashed funding for state parks, historic sites, driver's license facilities and substance abuse programs, Rutherford said.

The governor's comments left Pontiac Mayor Scott McCoy confused.

"I have no idea how to read that," McCoy said. "It is a connection we've never seen made. I hope he truly doesn't want to close Pontiac."

Madigan's spokesman did not immediately return telephone messages.

kurt.erickson@lee.net|789-0865