Committee to Hold Hearing on Youth Prison Bill

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A bill addressing abuse allegations at Wisconsin's troubled youth prison might be gaining some traction in the Legislature.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a public hearing Tuesday morning on a new bill that would make guards at the facility outside Irma mandatory child abuse reporters.

The FBI is currently investigating allegations of widespread abuse at the prison in the woods outside Irma in far northern Wisconsin. No one has been charged yet but a number of state prison officials have resigned or retired since word of problems at the facility surfaced in December 2015. Current and former inmates have filed two federal lawsuits challenging conditions at the prison.

The GOP-controlled Legislature has yet to pass any bills addressing the prison.

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