The heated public debate over a new jail in Johnson County has overlooked one player all Iowans should be worried about: the for-profit corporate prison industry.

With privatized prisons already located in more than half of the United States, including Illinois and Indiana, the prison industrial complex is eager to expand to additional states in the Midwest. Funding from Trump’s ICE initiatives has companies like The GEO Group and CoreCivic licking their chops, hungry to convert warehouses and shuttered buildings into jails and prisons.

These private companies have the money and clout to lobby legislators for laws that lead to increased incarceration. They have already wheedled and bullied Iowa’s Republican lawmakers into introducing and passing mandatory minimum sentences, stricter immigration enforcement, and “three strikes” laws. 

The prison industry thrives on a divided community. The jail issue could unite us over an issue we should all agree on — keeping for-profit jails out of Iowa.

If the Johnson County Jail referendum fails, the county will still have an aging jail, still have overcrowding, still have safety issues, and still have legal obligations, with no clear plan. Voters favoring a new jail and voters opposed must become partners in a coordinated effort to stop private correctional facilities from filling the void. 

If the referendum passes, both sides will need to stay engaged, ensuring the new jail is safe, humane, and publicly operated. This referendum matters, but what happens after is equally important. What is currently a heated debate between neighbors may well become a fight between the community and the corporations itching to jump in.

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