and now see:
http://www.pacc-news.com/12-9-09/heart12_9_09.html
Heart of the Matter by Tom Kocal
What’s the Rush?
After eight years of waiting, there is finally some action to open the State of Illinois’ Thomson Correctional Center. It is action that is coming from a surprising source, but action nonetheless. Is any action better than the 8 years of nothing? This question, the title question, and many others will soon be answered. Or will they?
As many of you are aware of, I have served as Chairman of the Carroll County Prison Focus Group, established because the State of Illinois decided not to open the state-of-the-art facility. There has been no question that for the past 8 years, it has been the safest prison in the world. Unfortunately true only because it was empty, devoid of the nasty prisoners it was built to hold. I am 200% in favor of opening the prison. I am in favor of opening it as a state or federal facility. Believe me, I am looking forward to resigning from this infamous post.
But that doesn’t mean that I don’t have any questions or concerns. The allegations presented in the national media, made mostly by Democrats that the “Republicans” are against the federal buy-out of the Thomson Prison because they are “fear-mongers,” are unjustified. If you have seen the questions, you realize that they are good questions, like the ones posed by U.S. Congressman Don Manzullo and Illinois Senator Tim Bivins from Dixon, who have both received a truly bad rap for asking them.
Elizabeth Town Hall Meeting
Sponsored by the Village of Elizabeth Board of Trustees, they held a Town Hall Meeting last Thursday evening. The packet of information included not only several of the questions posed by Congressman Manzullo, but the answers, too. Village President Michael Dittmar made arrangements for Manzullo to speak to the crowd of over 70 citizens from around NW Illinois via conference call from Washington D.C., as the House of Representatives was in session. Elizabeth decided to hold this meeting after attending a similar meeting in Hanover one week prior.
Manzullo said that presently 100 or more military combatants may be transferred to Thomson. “These ‘military’ or ‘enemy’ combatants are given that name because they believe their war against the U.S. will never end. 800 to 1500 U.S. soldiers would be stationed to guard these terrorists. It takes 10 soldiers to guard each terrorist. They have no regard for the Geneva Convention or any laws of war. These terrorists believe in suicide killings, and have carried out the most heinous attacks on humanity.”
I don’t think anyone is concerned about these monsters escaping from the prison. Even if they are released some day, they will never be released in the U.S. In spite of the type of criminal the fed’s are considering bringing to Thomson, Illinois, they will not get out. “My concern has always been the transferring of hatred toward GITMO to Thomson and Northwest Illinois.”
Critics call this fear-mongering. If this is not a viable concern, then why has the U.S. Government found it impossible to convince other countries to hold some of the Guantanamo detainees? Maybe because the brother of Uthman Abdul Rahim, held for nearly 8 years in Cuba, said ‘If Uthman and other detainees are sent to a prison in the United States, many families would consider it an even greater betrayal. The families, their friends, their tribesman will have more hatred for the United States. And perhaps they will consider taking the same path as the extremists.”
The terrorist detainees have no regard for U.S. or International laws and rules, yet we are ready to bring them onto U.S. soil, not knowing whether or not this action will give them additional U.S. Constitutional rights. Manzullo found that non-partisan scholars at the Congressional Research Service think they would be granted these rights, the same rights you and I have as citizens. For example, when the detainees are brought to Thomson, a federal judge can order the government, in certain cases, to release them based on violating their constitutional rights (habeus corpus).
“Currently, the courts cannot do that as long as the detainees are not on U.S. soil,” Manzullo said. “There is a law that presently prohibits detainees from being released on U.S. soil, but that also could come under attack.”
Being from Dixon, Sen. Bivins remembers when the state converted the Dixon Mental Hospital to a prison. “Things that they said could not happen, have happened,” Bivins recalled. “Just like being told the tolls would go away after 20 years - we know how that’s gone.”
Sen. Bivins stated that a “Security and Risk Assessment needs to be done.” What is the U.S. plan to prevent this from occurring in Thomson? None have been presented to date, nor has there been any discussion of Bivins’ proposed risk assessment. Can’t have any fear-mongering.
Rep. Jim Sacia was there, too. He has been a strong advocate to fund the operation of the prison. It has been on his agenda for 8 years, too. He was first elected as state representative right after the prison was completed.
“The nearly 3000 direct and indirect jobs that the federal penitentiary would bring to the area would have a tremendous impact to our region and the State of Illinois,” Sacia said. “Even if half of the jobs - 1500 - were created, the impact will be outstanding.”
The problem is that none of the federal jobs are guaranteed to any current State of Illinois employee in the Dept. of Corrections, and no preference to any local residents that fit the bill as a potential federal employee.
While still on the conference call, a citizen asked the audience to “raise your hand if you are under 37 years of age and have a bachelor’s degree,” two of the requirements of being a federal employee. No one did.
“Harley Lappin, Director of the federal Bureau of Prisons, told me that every employee at the prison - from guards to cooks - will become a law enforcement officer and therefore must be under the age of 37 when hired,” Manzullo stated. “Up to 800 prison personnel would be hired, with the majority of them coming from a 1-1/2 hour driving radius, with 250 to 300 current BOP personnel moving to Thomson and the area. The remainder would come from a national pool of 27,000 applicants.”
Granted, an influx of these applicants and their families will be a huge benefit to Carroll and neighboring Counties. But at the same time, many of our local residents who work at Thomson, Dixon, East Moline, etc. and their families may have to move out of the area if they want a job in Illinois Corrections because they don’t qualify for a federal position. Six of one, half a dozen of another, I guess.
How much $$ for the prison?
The letter to begin the potential sale process was submitted by Michael Randle, Director of the Illinois Dept. of Corrections, to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) on November 25. Sen. Jeffrey M. Schoenberg (D-9th Dist.) Assistant Majority Leader and Representative Richard P. Myers (R-94th Dist., Macomb) serve as Co-Chairmen of COGFA.
Sent to me by Carroll County Administrator Mike Doty, Randle stated in the letter that “representatives of various federal agencies are assessing the Thomson facility to determine its suitability for their needs. While it is uncertain whether the purchase will occur, we want to provide the Commission with notice of the proposed closure of the Thomson facility under Section 5-10 of the State Facilities Closure Act.”
Randle was clear to point out that the submission of the letter “should not be construed as an indication that the federal government has reached any decision regarding proceeding with the contemplated transaction and is not intended to have any influence on the same.”
Although the state spent more than $145 million to build the mostly unused prison, taxpayers have been billed for a lot more over the past 8 years just to keep the facility from falling apart. State budget records shows that more than $36 million has been spent on the 1,600-cell maximum-security facility since it was completed in 2001. That money wasn’t spent on operating the prison.
It was paid to repair a collapsed ceiling. It paid for an employee to occasionally flush the toilets to make sure the plumbing was working. It even paid for law books to be stocked at the prison library.
Those figures will play a key role in setting a purchase price for the prison. Gov. Pat Quinn, who is spearheading the proposal, said negotiations over a sale price will begin if the federal government decides to move forward on the deal. A spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Prisons said Tuesday that the agency is waiting for a decision from the Obama administration.
"I do believe we'll get fair market value," Quinn told reporters. Based on how much it cost to build the prison, plus the added yearly expenses, taxpayers have invested an estimated $184 million in Thomson, according to a review of budget documents dating to 2000.
Sen. Bivins said the state still owes an estimated $80 million on the prison. "We have to pay that off," Bivins said.
Also in attendance at the town hall meeting was Vicky Trager, Village of Thomson Trustee and Chairman of the Water/Sewer Committee.
"The Village of Thomson paid about $12 million to build a new sewer treatment system for the prison, Trager said. "This is Thomson's debt. We floated that bond. When the prison didn't open, we didn't have those water usage revenues. We cannot afford the $350,000 a year to service the debt on that bond. The State of Illinois has been paying it. Assuming someone else occupies the prison, our concern is some kind of safe harbor provision which will pay this debt until it is fully occupied. We have asked Andy Ross, the Governor's deputy Chief of Staff, about this. But make no mistake: the state wants out from under this debt.
"So I need to turn my attention to the Federal Government to make sure that they understand Thomson's position on this. If they are obligated to buy services from us, we'll just have to make sure that this is included in the contract."
"We are looking at up to $90 million that is still owed," Bivins said. "If the sale price is $120 million, as has been suggested, that takes the profit to as low as $30 million.
"Prison conditions in Illinois are still overcrowded and understaffed. Will we need to build another prison? What will that cost today?" Bivins queried.
Bivins would like to see the State lease the prison to the feds. "At least we would still own the facility after, say, the 20-year lease expires. Even after 20 years, Thomson would still be Illinois' newest prison."
There are still more questions that need answering. For now, many of us are whole-heartedly supporting this plan. To date, these governmental bodies have approved Resolutions that "support the sale, transfer or lease of the Thomson Correctional Center by the State of Illinois and the Department of Corrections to the Federal Bureau of Prisons":
Carroll County Board, CEDS, Villages of Thomson, Hanover, and Elizabeth, City of Savanna, Mt. Carroll and Lanark, and probably many others.
They have all separated the 2 issues - the sale of the prison, and the use of the prison. Sell it, open it, please. God knows we need the jobs and the influx of millions of dollars into the economy of NW Illinois from payroll and services for the prison. But at what cost?
