Gov. says no to media wanting to tour prisons Submitted by Denise Molina on Thu, 08/09/2012 - 7:02am Feature Illinois' prison system is in crisis. It was built to house 34,000 people; 48,000 are crowded in now. Conditions are deteriorating and recently released inmates say it’s not just unpleasant punishment, it's inhumane and abusive. The crisis has been brewing for a long time, invisible behind cement walls and wire fences. Governor Pat Quinn seems determined to keep it from public view. Over the last several months, the public radio station in Chicago, WBEZ, has been requesting visits to two minimum security facilities to see what taxpayers are getting for the Billion dollars they spend each year on prisons. Governor Quinn says no. Illinois Public Radio’s Robert Wildeboer has more.   Tune in tomorrow when when we take a look at the conditions at the Vandalia prison where inmates are kept in basements that have repeatedly flooded. Governor Quinn won't let WBEZ in that facility either.