Federal officials: Plans in ‘early stages’: Burke thinks Thomson ‘is probably their first choice’
|
|
| Buy Sauk Valley Media Photos » |
THOMSON – Officials for the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Defense toured Thomson Correctional Center on Monday to decide whether the state-of-the-art prison is ideal for housing some of the world’s most notorious terror suspects.
The federal government is considering buying the 146-acre Thomson prison and leasing a “small portion” to the Department of Defense to house detainees now at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, said Harley Lappin, director of the Bureau of Prisons.
“This is in the early stages in assessment,” Lappin said at a news conference Monday. “There are a number of options being considered, and this is just one of those options.”
He did not say when a final decision will be made.
Dixon Mayor Jim Burke, who was among 120 or so civic leaders invited to attend an informal briefing on the federal government’s plans, said afterward, “My impression is that this is probably their first choice.”
News came Friday night that the maximum-security facility may be the front-runner to house Gitmo detainees and federal inmates, which, Gov. Pat Quinn and others say, would be a boon to the economically depressed area.
Phil Carter, deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainees, said Monday that a number of facilities – civilian and military – are being considered at this time. He declined to name them.
Prior to the tour, the bureau met with civic leaders such as law enforcement officials, mayors, business people and state legislators, to discuss what it would mean to turn the nearly vacant Thomson into a federal prison.
Burke is all for it.
“We have had the Dixon Correctional Center for 25 years with over 2,200 inmates,” he said. “This has been nothing but a positive force in the community.”
Rock Falls Mayor David Blanton, also at the informal briefing, agreed.
“When the correctional center came to Dixon, even the Sterling and Rock Falls areas saw some of those benefits,” Blanton said. “It brought more people to the area and created more jobs.”
President Barack Obama has said he will close the prison at the U.S. naval base by January 2010.
Thomson Village President Jerry “Duke” Hebeler wrote a letter to Quinn asking him to consider turning Thomson over to the feds. During the news conference Monday, Hebeler said that since the prison was finished 8 years ago, the Carroll County village “has been in limbo.”
Selling the nearly vacant facility – which cost the state more than $140 million to build and costs nearly $2 million a year to operate – may provide a much-needed jolt to the local economy, Hebeler said.
“We need to listen, learn, and ask all the questions until we get the facts,” Hebeler said. “We certainly like whatever we’ve heard so far.”
Officials, in fact, estimate the flood of new and transferred jobs would generate up to $1 billion over 4 years to the local economy, and would spill over into Lee, Whiteside and other surrounding counties.
State Rep. Jerry Mitchell, R-Sterling, said that although he, too, wants to see the area economy improve, his top concern is safety.
“I’m concerned for the residents of Thomson and the surrounding areas,” Mitchell said. “I think this is going to take an awful lot of planning, especially on the local level.”
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has said fewer than 100 detainees would be at Thomson, but Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Ill., said Monday all of the more than 200 detainees would be transferred to the prison.
If Thomson does become home to Guantanamo detainees, they would not be allowed visitors, and the facility would be at least as secure as a supermax prison in Florence, Colo., federal officials said Monday.
The Chicago Tribune contributed to this story.
What locals are saying
Here’s what some Thomson residents had to say about plans to turn the Thomson Correctional Center into a federal prison housing Guantanamo Bay detainees:
“I’m not afraid of the terrorist prisoners – they aren’t going to have any effect on me if they are here. What is important, though, is that this is going to bring a lot more jobs into the area. Our businesses will benefit, and our schools will benefit.”
– Norma Strukhoff, 78
“It’s kind of scary when you think about it. There are a lot of unknown factors about how this is going to work and how they will bring these guys in from different countries.”
– Ernest Schaefer, 25
“I think this is a good thing for Thomson, because it’s going to bring in a lot more customers to the businesses we do have around here.”
– Shannon Sass, 26
“I think this is going to be good for the economy as a whole. We need to have Thomson open, and I know whatever inmates that do come there will be well-guarded.”
– Margaret Wilt, 81
Tribunals at Thomson? Prison could host trials of Gitmo detainees, others
