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.
The proposal has sparked criticism from some governmental officials and Illinois residents, who expressed concerns over housing suspected terrorists in Illinois. Critics also say that Illinois’ prison system is already over capacity, and Thomson should instead be used to reduce overcrowding at other state facilities and reduce substantial overtime costs.
It’s estimated that Illinois’ prison are at 135 percent and 179 percent capacity for general and maximum-security populations.
Senator Righter said that more information is needed and raised objections to the Governor’s plan, noting that aside from security concerns, lawmakers should be allowed to weigh in on the facility’s potential sale. Governor Pat Quinn has said he can sell the facility by arbitrarily declaring it “surplus property.” Lawmakers are concerned that could set a dangerous precedent that could impact virtually every piece of state property.
In addition, some lawmakers believe that if the federal government offers to purchase Thomson, the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability must hold hearings on the potential facility closure.
Advocates say safety concerns about housing potential terrorists at the facility have been blown out of proportion, noting that it is a supermax prison and is equipped to handle violent offenders. However, even President Barack Obama has acknowledged that the prisoners likely to remain in custody after Guantanamo is closed will be those who cannot be tried, but who are deemed too dangerous to be released.
Also this week, a report was released revealing that Illinois’ unemployment is the highest it has been in 26 years, increasing to 11 percent in October.
Recently, the Illinois Department of Employment Security announced that the state’s unemployment rate had jumped from 10.5 percent in September to 11 percent in October. In October 2008, the unemployment rate was 6.8 percent.
Though there were job losses in Illinois industries, some sectors had noticeable increases in employment. Education and health services, as well as business and construction all reported gains. Manufacturing, transportation and trade sectors experienced losses.
The national unemployment rate also rose to 10.2 percent in October, which is the highest it has been since April 1983.
