SPRINGFIELD - A hearing set for Tuesday on the merits of a plan to close Pontiac Correctional Center and open a shuttered prison in Thomson could be rescheduled. | Closing prison could benefit state - of Iowa | Pontiac, Livingston Co. hope for big turnout at hearing

Gov. Rod Blagojevich called for lawmakers to go to Springfield Tuesday to work on school spending and construction issues.

But that session would conflict with the planned meeting of a panel of lawmakers in Pontiac.

A decision about a new date could be made by the end of Wednesday, said Dan Long, director of the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.

Long and state Sen. Dan Rutherford, R-Chenoa, said there's little doubt the date will be changed.

"It looks like it's going to be," Long said.

Blagojevich is required to go through the hearing process before closing any state facility. After hearing evidence, a panel of lawmakers will eventually recommend to the governor whether to go forward or not.

Whether or not Blagojevich takes that advice, though, is another question.

Last week, the same panel heard testimony in Blagojevich's plan to move 136 Illinois Department of Transportation workers from Springfield to southern Illinois. The controversial hearing lasted more than six hours.

This story will be updated.