MCC Chicago
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| Location | Chicago, Illinois |
|---|---|
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | Metropolitan Correctional Center |
| Population | 683 |
| Opened | 1975 |
| Managed by | Federal Bureau of Prisons |
The Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago (MCC Chicago) is a United States federal prison facility in Chicago, Illinois which holds male and female prisoners of all security levels prior to and during court proceedings in the Northern District of Illinois, as well as inmates serving brief sentences. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.
MCC Chicago was designed by architect Harry Weese. Construction began in 1971 and the facility opened in 1975. Several features make MCC Chicago's design unique from other federal prison facilities. Each cell has a slit window which is 5 inches wide by 7 feet long. The building is a right triangle shape, extrudes 28 stories, and has a rooftop exercise yard.
Access to the rooftop exercise yard is limited to every other day for two hours at a time. There is access to the gym once or twice a week. There is a library that houses movies as well as books that prisoners can utilize twice a week. There is a security housing unit (SHU) for male prisoners, while female prisoners needing to be isolated, as of 2005, have been taken to the Cook County Jail.
As of 2005[update] women prisoners may visit the exercise room and law library once per week. The prison only allows male inmates, not females, to have prison jobs such as working in the prison kitchen.Piper Kerman, the author of Orange is the New Black wrote that circa 2005 the institution was not responsive to the demands of the prisoners, who were in "misery", and that the prison guards, who were "often pleasant, if unprofessional", were unable to make meaningful change.
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