Marion, Illinois

Marion is a city located in Williamson County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 16,035. It is the county seat of Williamson CountyTemplate:GR. Marion was named for Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox" in the Revolutionary War. The County's namesake, Hugh Williamson served as a physician in the same campaign. It is also the home to the first supermax prison in the U.S., United States Penitentiary (USP) Marion. Marion's slogan is "Marion: Hub of the Universe."

Commerce and Industry

Marion, Illinois is located at the intersection of Interstate 57 and State Route 13 in southern Illinois. With Interstate 64 just 30 minutes to the North and Interstate 24 only minutes to the South, Marion offers access to several metropolitan areas such as St. Louis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Memphis, and Nashville without the associated "big city" costs.

From quaint antique stores to a regional shopping mall, Marion has hundreds of stores filled wall-to-wall with every kind of merchandise anyone could ever want.

Marion's growth is phenomenal. It has become the largest small city in Illinois. With the crossroads of Rt.13 and Interstate 57 in the heart of downtown, Marion is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing cities in Illinois.

Popular resaraunts in Marion include Walt's, Bennie's, The Asian Bistro, 17th Street Bar and Grill (The only 3-time World Champion in BBQ), and La Fiesta, Tequlias, Applebees, Ruby Tuesdays, O'Charleys, Red Lobster, among others.

Former popular restaraunts no longer in business included Tony's Steakhouse, and Pulley's. Pulley's served President George W. Bush BBQ.

Prison

On October 22, 1983, two prison guards were killed in unrelated incidents in the maximun security prison in Marion. The prison was, at the time, the holding place for the Federal Bureau of Prisons' most dangerous prisoners. Despite this, two inmates were able independently to kill their accompanying guards. Relatively lax security procedures allowed a prisoner, while walking down a hall, to turn to the side and approach a particular cell. An accomplice would subsequently unlock his handcuffs with a stolen key and provide him with a knife.

As a result of the incident, the prison in Marion went into "permanent lockdown," and was completely transformed into a "control unit" prison. This penal construction and operation theory, since named supermax (a portmanteau of super and maximum) calls for the keeping of inmates in solitary confinement between twenty-two and twenty-three hours each day, and does not allow congregate dining, exercising, or religious services. These practices are used as administrative measures to keep prisoners under control.

Following the killings, Norman Carlson, then director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, successfully persuaded the federal government that a more secure type of prison needed to be designed reasoning that there was a need to isolate uncontrollable prisoners from both guards and each other for the sake of security and personal safety. Marion became a model for the subsequent construction of other facilities around the country built specifically as a control unit prison.

Geography

Marion is located at 37°43'49" North, 88°55'49" West (37.730363, -88.930237)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.0 km² (13.5 mi²). 33.2 km² (12.8 mi²) of it is land and 1.8 km² (0.7 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 5.18% water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 16,035 people, 6,902 households, and 4,341 families residing in the city. The population density was 482.6/km² (1,250.2/mi²). There were 7,555 housing units at an average density of 227.4/km² (589.0/mi²).

There were 6,902 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 20.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,364, and the median income for a family was $39,275. Males had a median income of $31,520 versus $22,609 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,073. 14.9% of the population and 11.2% of families were below the poverty line. 22.9% of those under the age of 18 and 10.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

External links

• Marion Daily Republican Newspaper
  
• Marion Chamber of Commerce