By Jim Tankersley
This holiday season, Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) is taking his family over the river and through the woods ... to the Louisiana State Penitentiary.
Roskam, a freshman from the O'Hare-area suburbs, is on his way to address inmates in the prison chapel tomorrow, thanks to a passing aquaintance he made some time ago with Burl Cain, the warden of the maximum-security prison in Angola, La.
Cain impressed Roskam with a program he instituted that allows inmates to take classes through the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Roskam credits the program for a decline in the prison's murder rate. The prison's web site proclaims that the penitentiary "in its previous unhealthy condition was known for its violence and frequent escape attempts. Currently, Angola displays a peaceful and safe environment, which is the best evidence of a successful, healthy religious program."
But is it a good vacation destination? Depends on which Roskam you are.
Peter Roskam called The Swamp this afternoon from Memphis. He estimated he, his wife and their two sons would hit Angola tonight. Later in the week, he said, they planned to check out Baton Rouge and the Louisiana State University campus.
The two Roskam daughters, he said, passed on the trip.
“Our boys are pretty game," the congressman said. "Our girls kind of had a twinkle in their eye when they actually had other obligations.”
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