Up North Progressive
Politics and commentary for Northern MichiganBlog Archives
Two Anti-ICE and GEO Group Protests in Baldwin
Wednesday , 18, June 2025 GEO Group, Punk Prison Leave a commentGEO Group once again activated the prison located in Baldwin, Michigan, for the fifth time. Unlike the previous four failed activations, this one occurred quietly. The prison is up and running now and receiving detainees kidnapped by ICE. GEO Group has a less-than-positive relationship with the community. Originally a facility for juvenile offenders, the “punk […]
Here We Go Again: GEO Group’s Wack-a-Mole Prison Scheduled to Open for the 5th Time
Thursday , 20, March 2025 GEO Group, Punk Prison Leave a commentFor-profit “punk prison” North Lake Correctional Facility, owned by GEO Group, announced today that they have a shiny new federal prison contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, aka ICE. The prison corporation that had maxed out its contributions to the Trump campaign by February 2024 received its payoff. The 1,800-bed facility, located just north […]
Maxed-Out GOP Donor GEO Group Demands Tax Break from Poorest County in Michigan
Sunday , 6, October 2024 GEO Group, Punk Prison 1 CommentLast month, GEO Group contested a property tax assessment with the Michigan Tax Tribunal, demanding that the value of their sole Michigan prison be significantly reduced. The assessed property is the shuttered North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin, Michigan. The facility was built 26 years ago with the approval of the Lake County Board of […]
Over 50 Organizations Say No in Reopening Michigan For-Profit GEO Group Prison as an ICE Detention Center
Monday , 26, September 2022 COVID_19, GEO Group, Punk Prison 3 CommentsIn four days, GEO Group’s North Lake Correctional Facility once again will close. The for-profit prison in search of a prison population lost its contract through President Biden’s January 2021 executive order to not use private prisons for federal detainees. US Congressmen John Moolenar and Bill Huizenga, in June of 2022, proposed to convert the […]
Public Service Announcement From a Former(?) Employee of North Lake Correctional Facility
Tuesday , 18, May 2021 COVID_19, GEO Group, Punk Prison 4 CommentsNorth Lake Correctional Facility has been a double-edged sword in Northern Michigan’s side for over two decades. GEO Group can’t keep the for-profit prison open without government contracts, and the local community can’t stay fiscally afloat without the revenue the white elephant produces for them. In 2019 GEO Group announced the millions of dollars donated […]
Now ICE Leases TWO Prisons in Michigan
Thursday , 20, February 2020 GEO Group, Punk Prison, Trumpenreich Leave a commentOn February 12, 2020 the Lake County Board of Commissioners approved with unanimous vote to accept a contract from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The contract will allow ICE to move prisoners from North Lake Correctional Facility, owned by GEO Group, to the shuttered Lake County jail annex located in Baldwin. The annex up until […]
@CoreCivic and @WeAreGeo Tug of War: North Lake Correctional Facility Has a Future (Again)
Friday , 3, May 2019 GEO Group, Punk Prison 4 CommentsIn the world of for-profit incarceration, one company’s loss is another company’s gain. GEO Group announced on May 2, 2019, their successful contract bid with the Federal Bureau of Prisons to house 5,000 prisoners for the next ten years. CoreCivic, formerly CCA, issued a statement the day before the Federal Bureau of Prisons ended a […]
What Do GEO Group and Baldwin’s Sewer Have In Common? A Possible 22,000 Bed ICE Contract with the Federal Government
Sunday , 15, April 2018 Community 5 CommentsThe April 5, 2018 Lake County Star reported that GEO Group Inc., would pay for major upgrades to Baldwin’s sewer system in anticipation of receiving a contract with the federal government to house as many as 22,000 immigration detainees. North Lake Correctional Facility, located in Webber Township north of Baldwin, sits empty since last summer […]
GEO Group Files Statement With the State of Michigan North Lake Correctional Facility Will Close For Good on June 20, 2017
Tuesday , 25, April 2017 Community 1 CommentTwo years ago North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin, Michigan, opened its doors to receive out-of-state prisoners from Vermont and Washington State. On April 19, 2017, the prison filed notice with the State of Michigan it would permanently close on June 20, 2017, laying off 107 employees due to non-renewal of the client contract. Of […]