Springfield, Ill. -- A recent announcement that GuantanamoBay detainees could be moved to Illinois’ ThomsonCorrectionalCenter has raised deep concern among Senate Republican lawmakers.

State Senator Dale Righter (R-Mattoon) said that reports suggest Thomson is the leading candidate to receive federal detainees, including suspected terrorists, when the federal government closes its military prison located in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Thomson Correctional Center (TCC), a supermax facility located in northwestern Illinois, has sat largely empty since it was completed in 2001.

The correctional center was identified as a potential replacement by federal authorities, who would purchase TCC from Illinois and use it to house approximately 1,500 federal, maximum- security inmates, which would include approximately 100 detainees from the GuantanamoBay facility.

Illinois is one of the 10 most financially troubled states in the country, a new report says, warning that it struggles with many of the problems that led to "economic disaster" in California.

The report, "Beyond California: States in Fiscal Peril," portrays Illinois and eight other states as facing fiscal hardships that are just as tough as California's, which at one point this year was making payments with IOUs.

Authors of the report, issued by the Pew Center on the States, cited Illinois for "its lack of fiscal discipline to balance its state budget." They noted that Illinois' $13.2 billion budget gap for fiscal year 2010 was among the top three in the country.

"Officials have used all sorts of short-term approaches to address the budget gaps, but two of the most significant and consequential are to put off paying bills and skimp on the state's annual pension payments," the report said.

Christopher Mooney, a political science professor at the University of Illinois Springfield, said the report "basically shows the dramatic effect of these ongoing budget problems we've had and the lack of political will to deal with it."

The Pew Center's analysis didn't surprise Illinois lawmakers.

"It's a sad, sad refrain of the same song," said state Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, who is deputy minority leader in the Senate.

He blamed Democrats, who control the state Senate, House of Representatives and governor's office.

"Democratic leaders have shown a stunning lack of discipline in their ability to manage state government," Righter said.

But Rep. Frank Mautino, D-Spring Valley, said Illinois has a long-standing structural deficit problem, largely caused by spiraling pension and Medicaid costs. Mautino, an assistant House majority leader, chairs a House appropriations committee.

Illinois policymakers have turned to temporary solutions, such as borrowing, to deal with the budget hole, Mautino said, adding: "I don't think there are many short-term fixes left."

Susan Urahn, managing director of the Pew Center on the States, said Illinois' status as one of the 10 most troubled states is "a pretty clear indicator" that officials must do more to address state government's financial problems.

"They don't have a lot of fiscal fat left in the budget," she said.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                       

Springfield- State Senator Dale Righter (R-Mattoon) and Representative Roger Eddy (R- Hutsonville) were visited Wednesday October 28 at the State Capitol by Paris High School student Gretta Patrick and her parents. Patrick, the president of Paris Cooperative High School Teenage Republicans, shadowed Senator Righter to gain knowledge of the legislative process.  She and her parents also took time to meet with Representative Eddy.

Pictured: Senator Dale Righter, left, Andy Patrick, left middle, Gretta Patrick, middle, Cydni Patrick, right middle, Representative Roger Eddy, right.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          November 6, 2009

With the annual fall veto session now concluded, newspaper editorial writers from Chicago to Carbondale weighed in. Most mirrored the disappointment of Senate Republicans over campaign finance reforms that fell short of expectations, State Senator Dale Righter (R-Mattoon) said.

Also during the week, a long-delayed parental notification law was back in court and at least two major universities said they are struggling under the state’s massive backlog of unpaid bills.