Town would rather get prisoners
|
|
| Assistant chief engineer Dan Sitzmore stands in one of the walkways between the cell houses Feb. 24, 2004, at the shuttered Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson. At the time the photo was taken only two state employees worked at the 625,000-square-feet facility completed in 2001. (AP file photo) |
| Buy Northwest Herald Photos » |
THOMSON – Some folks in this dying Mississippi River town rather would take their chances with suspected terrorists in their backyard than watch their neighbors continue to move away in despair over the lack of jobs.
News that the federal government might buy the nearly empty Thomson Correctional Center and use the maximum-security state prison to house Guantanamo Bay detainees has given people in Thomson hope that things might be about to turn around in this woeful town of 450.
“This town is slowly but surely dying off, and I mean that literally because the people that are retired are dying off and there’s no young people coming back in to take their place. There’s nothing here to draw them,” said Richard Groharing, a 68-year-old retired Florida corrections officer who was born in Thomson, a farming community about 150 miles west of Chicago.
The prison was built in 2001 with the promise of thousands of jobs. But because of state budget problems, it largely has been vacant since its completion. It has 1,600 cells, but only about 200 minimum-security inmates are held there, and there are only 82 staff members, according to the state.
The Obama administration wants to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and transfer some terrorism suspects to the U.S. for trial. On Monday, federal officials were at the Thomson prison to inspect it and meet with state and local authorities.
The prison is in the sprawling district of Congressman Don Manzullo, which runs from McHenry County to the Mississippi River. Manzullo said he would like to see the prison house federal inmates, just not terrorists from Guantanamo Bay.
“The federal prison system is way overcrowded and is in dire need of more space, and Thomson offers an ideal solution. Moving Gitmo north to Thomson, Illinois, should not be part of the package, “ Manzullo said.
Rep. Melissa Bean, D-Barrington, said she opposed bringing the detainees into the country until she was told it would be safe.
“I remain opposed to transferring Guantanamo detainees to Illinois, or anywhere in the United States, without substantial assurances regarding potential security threats,” Bean said.
Although Gov. Pat Quinn and Sen. Dick Durbin, both Democrats, welcomed the possibility of locking up Guantanamo detainees at Thomson, several other Illinois lawmakers objected, warning that it would make the Chicago area a terrorist target.
