Legislators weigh in on potential sale: Security, economic stimulus top concerns
THOMSON – The news that Thomson Correctional Center could become the new Gitmo was met with mixed reactions from Sauk Valley’s state and federal legislators Sunday.
State Rep. Mike Boland, and state Sen. Mike Jacobs, both East Moline Democrats, long have been among the most vocal supporters of opening the state-of-the-art, maximum-security prison, which has stood virtually vacant due to state budget problems since it was built 8 years go.
Boland said Sunday that the possibility of turning Thomson into a federal prison is “like a gift from heaven” that will provide an economic surge that can re-energize the Sauk Valley and beyond.
“This is a tremendous, tremendous economic opportunity for our region,” Boland said. “There will be folks in Sterling and Rock Falls that are going to apply for these jobs, along with Thomson, Mount Carroll and Savanna. There are more people that will drive to Sterling and Clinton and the Quad Cities to buy things, so it’s really going to have a multiplying effect.”
Jacobs agreed, although he is not without concerns.
“I want to make sure that the prison guards who already work at Thomson will be hired to work at the new [federal] facility as well,” he said. “I think it would be the cruelest hoax of all if those folks weren’t hired.”
Some legislators think security risks far outweigh the economic benefits, though.
State Sen. Tim Bivins, R-Dixon, a former Lee County sheriff, is open to the idea of selling Thomson to the federal government, but opposes bringing detainees to the U.S. in general, and Thomson in particular.
“The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly a few years ago against bringing detainees to the U.S. ... I’m against anything that would bring them here.
“I’m treating it as two separate issues.” 1) Selling Thomson to the feds. 2) Bringing detainees to the U.S. and the Sauk Valley’s backyard.
“It definitely could be a boon to the community there,” Bivins said. “But be careful what you ask for.”
U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Egan, adamantly opposes bringing Guantanamo Bay detainees to Thomson, he said in a news release Saturday.
“Our residents in Carroll County and throughout northwestern Illinois desperately need jobs, and if there’s a need for a new federal prison to house domestic federal prisoners, the Thomson facility would be ideal,” Manzullo said.
“But bringing the world’s most dangerous terrorists to northern Illinois would do more harm than good in the long run.”
Jacobs said he’s confident Thomson can withstand the threat.
“The idea that somehow our prison guards are not equipped to handle these people from third-world countries is laughable,” Jacobs said. “The fact is that we can handle them now, and we can handle them in the future, as well.”
Boland agreed.
“Illinois’ track record is absolutely fabulous compared to other states, where some have had escapees from their prison systems,” Boland said. “We have not. We’ve held these type of dangerous characters there, and the community has remained very safe.”
State Rep. Jerry Mitchell, R-Sterling, was unavailable for comment Sunday night. Robbin Blackert, chairwoman of the Whiteside County Republicans and Mitchell’s legislative assistant, said Mitchell still had a lot of questions to be answered before he would comment.
