It's a big issue this fall, prison safety, for the guards, the inmates, and the people who live near by.
And today, it's those people who are concerned.
Authorities found inmate David Stodolny outside the prison fence a quarter mile away. After he broke into a woman's home.
They say he hopped a fence at the prison, but are investigating Wednesday as to exactly what happened.
He was missing from the prison for about an hour and that was a scary hour for the woman who lived in that house.
It's a situation many of us never have to worry about.
But for neighbors living near the East Moline Correctional Center, the hope is those barbed wire fences do their job keeping convicted criminals inside.
Those fences failed today after David Stodolny escaped and broke into a nearby home.
And the homeowner says after twenty years, she plans on moving.
"It's so close you'd never think they'd come to the next spot they seen."
Logic this homeowner, who asked us not to report her name, says was mistaken today. After police called and said, a convict escaped from the prison and broke into her home.
"I came home, we realized he actually got in, which I wasn't sure of, and there's a few things he got into."
She says her privacy has been violated.
"He took a sweatshirt I think, and then he got in the refrigerator, helped himself to some water, used my bathroom, went through my bedroom so we don't know what all he got."
But it's her safety she's most concerned with.
"If an inmates escaped they're not worrying about any kind of trouble, so they could do anything."
Her house has been broken into twice in a year and a half. After Wednesday's inmate escape she plans on moving after twenty years of minding her own business.
"If one can get out of there, that means there might be a few more, so who ever is making these laws that they can only have so many workers down there, they need to give them some more workers. You can only watch so many people."
And with the Governor making unpopular decision about the state's prison system. She's got a few choice words for him.
"I would tell him you're risking the safety of a lot of people, there's kids that come out here, and the other part of the housing isn't far either, there's kids, there's old people, people living by themselves, so it's not real safe."
The prison is on lock down while the Corrections Department investigates how Stodolny escaped.
Prison vehicles have been inspecting the grounds and guards have been walking along the fence.
Trying to figure out how this happened, to try and prevent it from happening again.
