SPRINGFIELD - An independent study of Illinois' prison system shows that the state should be preparing to add space for inmates rather than pushing to close prisons.

In a lengthy report that was kept under wraps by the Blagojevich administration for more than a year, consultants say the state will need more than 54,000 beds for inmates within the next eight years. Currently, there are 51,300 available beds within Illinois Department of Corrections facilities.

"IDOC would need another 2,735 beds by end of 2016 to meet projected population demand," the taxpayer-funded report notes.

Corrections spokesman Derek Schnapp said the agency disagrees with the findings. He says internal growth projections don't show a need for additional bed space.

In addition, Schnapp said the agency could put two inmates in some cells, which would reduce the need to build new space.

"Taxpayers should relish the fact that the department is not committed to a prison-building program that is not needed right now, given slower population growth," Schnapp stated in an e-mail Wednesday.

The $411,000 study, which was completed in September 2007, was released at the request of lawmakers as part of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's push to close the 1,600-bed Pontiac Correctional Center, which officials say will save about $8 million over two years.

The department previously had ignored numerous requests to make the study public.

State Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa, said the findings are not a surprise.

"It shows what many of believe was going to be the answer. Closing Pontiac does not make sense," said Rutherford, whose district includes the maximum-security lockup in Pontiac.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents prison workers across the state, has argued for years that there are major overcrowding issues within the system.

The study confirms the position of the union, which is suing to stop the closure of Pontiac, spokesman Anders Lindall said.

"You don't fix a dangerously overcrowded system by closing a prison," Lindall said.

Members of the General Assembly's Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability voted unanimously last week against the governor's plan to close Pontiac. But the vote by lawmakers was advisory, and the agency continues to move forward with the closing of the 137-year-old prison.

The agency would move most of the inmates to a new, unused prison in Thomson, north of the Quad-Cities.

Rutherford and Lindall said the study offers proof that Thomson should be opened to relieve overcrowding but that Pontiac should not be shuttered.

"This is no time to close any prison," Lindall said.

The report, conducted by Peoria-based engineering firm PSA Dewberry, found that even if Thomson is opened, the sprawling prison system will have a shortage of beds in the coming years.

The results appear to run counter to Blagojevich's decision five years ago to scrap the construction of new prisons in Grayville and Hopkins Park.

The report notes that if the governor were to resume construction on the 1,800-bed women's prison in Hopkins Park, the cost would be $98 million, up from its 2002 cost of $79 million.

The report does not indicate how Illinois might resolve the looming shortage but suggests that additional beds could be added to existing prison facilities.

The price tag for addressing the shortage is pegged at anywhere from $190 million to nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars.

As an alternative, the state could build a 450-bed wing at an existing prison at a cost of about $15 million, the report notes.

Schnapp said efforts to slow recidivism rates among prisoners and other policies implemented by the department have slowed inmate growth to the point that officials don't believe new facilities need to be built.

"The year 2016 is a long time from now," Schnapp noted. "The department is tailoring resources to fit the best needs of the department, not just spending taxpayer dollars randomly and excessively."

The study also looked at what it would take to upgrade various prisons, including Pontiac. Electrical and mechanical systems at Pontiac are in good working order, the study noted.

Rather than a major makeover of the prison, the study found that upgrades to roofs, kitchens and plumbing systems could be done for less than $6 million.

The amount of money it would take to upgrade Pontiac is less than what it would take to fix problems at other, newer prisons within the state's correctional system, the study notes.

At the Shawnee Correctional Center in Southern Illinois, for example, the report shows it needs more than $12 million in upgrades. Upgrades at the nearby Vienna Correctional Center are listed at more than $10 million.

kurt.erickson@lee.net|789-0865