Posted on 02/18/2010 6:03:16 PM PST by bigbob
The state of Illinois intends to close the nearly vacant Thomson Correctional Center effective April 30, according to a letter sent to the union representing prison employees.
“This notice is part of the process the state must go through in order to close the prison, declare the property surplus and then to sell it to the federal government,” Januari Smith, a spokesperson for the state Department of Corrections, said in a statement Tuesday.
The Obama administration wants to buy the nearly vacant prison to house 1,600 federal inmates, as well as a limited number of suspected terrorists who are now being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The administration announced its intent in December to buy the prison. And last month, a state legislative panel recommended closing the facility.
There currently are 77 employees and 136 inmates at the prison, according to the state. It’s not clear where the prisoners will go, but the employees will be given the opportunity to claim other corrections jobs in the region. Anders Lindall, a spokesman for the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Council 31, said the union has been notified.
“That doesn’t mean we’re backing off in any way from our belief the facility is needed, especially to relieve overcrowding in the state prison system,” Lindall said.
He said the notification is required by the union’s contract with the state.
The letter, sent last week and signed by Department of Corrections Director Michael Randle, says negotiations will now commence with the union over the shutdown.
The potential transfer of the prison, which is about 50 miles from the Quad-Cities, is a major economic development issue in the region.
The White House has said up to 3,800 jobs could be created over a four-year period, and economic development and most political leaders in the region are eagerly anticipating it.
However, the pace of the developments has slowed since the disclosure last year that Thomson was being considered for the prisoners.
Congressional Republicans and even some Democrats have opposed the idea of closing Guantanamo Bay and sending some of the detainees to Thomson.
The Obama administration has asked for $237 million in fiscal year 2011 to buy, renovate and operate Thomson. A decision on funding, however, may not come until fall.
Previously, backers of the plan had said a funding debate could occur this spring.
Smith’s statement Tuesday said the corrections department has received initial preferences from Thomson employees about filling existing job vacancies.
It said it is trying to accommodate those requests.
Employees will soon be notified of specific dates and times for meetings about the matter, the statement said.
This explains why Dear Leader' tried to send the Get Mo muzzlims there. To save union jobs! Suddenly, the President's plans for Get Mo makes perfect sense!
Chicago politics and kick-back.
Maybe Gov. Quinn can explain why he had to release 1,700 inmates early but has room for Gitmo detainees. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417308/posts
Crazy Dear Leader still at it.
Maybe it will reopen as a FEMA camp soon.
Crook County is still a thriving business.
Cook County Jail to hire 600 guards
(http://www.southtownstar.com/news/2081208,jail-guard-hiring-0303.article)
March 3, 2010
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Cook County Board has approved a plan to hire more than 600 new guards for the Cook County Jail.
Under the plan approved Tuesday, the new guards would be hired by early next year.
The hiring push comes about 18 months after the U.S. Justice Department released a scathing report on conditions at the Cook County Jail. County officials say it’s part of an overall plan to end federal court supervision of the jail in two to four years.
Daniel Gallagher, an attorney for Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, says the 60-page plan is being submitted to the Justice Department in hopes it will be filed as an agreement in federal court.
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