Pontiac prison on lockdown after inmates assault 6 workers

PONTIAC, Ill. — A prison in central Illinois has been placed on lockdown while state officials investigate the assault of six employees by five inmates.

Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman Nicole Wilson said Monday that the Pontiac Correctional Center is on lockdown following the incident Sunday and will remain on lockdown until the department has finished its investigation.

She didn’t say what a lockdown at the facility entails. The prison’s website says no visitors are allowed.

The six employees who were assaulted have been treated for non-life threatening injuries and released from the hospital.

Wilson says the case will be referred to Livingston County prosecutors.

The prison is about 100 miles southwest of Chicago. It has maximum and medium security areas and can house nearly 2,300 inmates.