The New Hardin: Thomson, Illinois

By Kellyn Brown, 11-18-09

The Associated Press reported earlier this week that the Bureau of Prisons was considering Hardin’s empty jail as a potential site to house Guantanamo inmates. But apparently it was wrong. From TPM:

"We do not have any information that a facility in Montana is being considered for a BOP facility," spokesman Edmund Ross told us. "We're looking at the Thomson facility in Illinois."

The report did prompt Republican Congressman Denny Rehberg to reiterate that he opposed bringing the inmates to Montana. “We must ensure that our safety takes precedence over political expedience,” he said. As it turns out, he has nothing to worry about. The debate has now shifted to the small town of Thomson, Ill., where it is as divisive as it was in Hardin. From NYT:

By 2001, the prison — beige, pristine, surrounded by electrified fence and able to hold at least 1,600 prisoners — was built, at a cost to the state of $128 million. But then it sat. No prisoners came. Year after year, local leaders here said, the state said it could not pay to operate it. In 2006, about 200 minimum-security inmates were finally moved here, but that created only about 70 jobs.

Over the years, new hopes have been raised, then dashed. Not long ago, local leaders said, an older state prison was rumored to be closing, and there was talk that its inmates would come here. Some residents even trained to be guards. But the move never happened.

Sounds familiar. [End of article]