Gitmo and federal prisoners to Thomson? Embrace positives; don’t ignore negatives

Put aside for a moment apprehensions about possible negative impacts on Carroll County posed by dozens of newly arrived Gitmo terrorist suspects, and the conversion of the little-used Thomson Correctional Center into a federal prison makes sense.

According to Gov. Pat Quinn and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, between 2,340 and 3,250 ongoing jobs are expected to be generated, highlighted by 1,800 positions with the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Defense.

Those jobs and a fully functioning prison, to operate for decades to come, would create economic activity estimated at $1 billion over a 4-year period, Durbin said Sunday.

But Quinn and Durbin missed a key concern of people who aren’t thrilled with the idea.

In their statements Sunday, both said that, of the 340 or so convicted terrorists incarcerated across America, not one has ever escaped.

Said Durbin in Chicago: “Those who are spreading fear and panic about this are ignoring the facts, and the facts are clear. We have the chance to bring a major new correctional facility to our state, create some of the best-paying jobs that that region will know, [and] breathe life back into these communities. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We need to stand together, work to win this competition, and bring it to Illinois.”

Critics are not worried about escapees. Most people accept that terror suspects likely won’t break out.

What no one knows is just who will be attracted by the sudden presence of these terror suspects in Carroll County.

It is one thing to have a facility such as the Dixon Correctional Center, where prisoners’ families regularly come to visit or even move to the community to be close to their loved ones.

It is quite another to have the successor of the notorious Guantanamo Bay detention center in the region’s midst, accompanied by worldwide publicity and the possible arrival of terror suspects’ families, friends and sympathizers.

To ask how this will impact Thomson, Carroll County, and the wider region is not fear mongering.

It is caution.

It is reason.

It is common sense.

U.S. Rep. Donald Manzullo, who represents Thomson, raised another point: “Future job providers and residents would have serious reservations about locating in a region that’s home to the world’s most dangerous criminals and could be a target for future terrorist activity.”