Thomson Correctional Center was an Illinois Department of Corrections maximum security prison located just north of Thomson, Illinois. It has an area of about 146 acres (59 ha) and comprises 15 buildings. The facility is enclosed by a 15-foot (4.6 m), 7000 volt electric fence surrounded by an additional 12-foot (3.7 m) exterior fence covered with razor wire. Thomson has eight cellhouses with 1,600 total cells, and an additional minimum-security unit with 200 beds.[1][2][3] However, from its completion in 2001 to 2006, it sat empty[4] and, as of 2009[update], only the minimum-security section houses prisoners.[1][2] On April 30, 2010 Thomson closed.[5]
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The building of the prison was controversial; early plans suggested using the site of the former Savanna Army Depot, several miles north of Thomson. One of the main reasons the prison was controversial was concern that the prison would have a negative impact on the environment, especially being so close to the Mississippi River.[6]
Thomson Correctional Center was built between May 1999 and November 2001. Its completion cost $140 million, but the state omitted opening costs from the 2002 budget, and Governor George H. Ryan called for a delay to the opening to save $50 million per year in operating costs.[7] By 2009, the total cost to the state of Illinois exceeded $170 million.[8] The minimum security unit has an annual budget of $7 million.[9] State budget constraints as well as labor union opposition to closing other state prisons prevented the maximum-security prison from opening.[9]
In 2008, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich proposed to close the state prison in Pontiac, Illinois and to open the Thomson maximum-security unit instead. However, Blagojevich was subsequently arrested on December 9, 2008, and removed from office. His replacement, Governor Pat Quinn cancelled plans to close the Pontiac prison in March 2009, leaving Thomson unused.[9]
On December 15, 2009, President Barack Obama, via a Presidential memorandum, formally ordered the departments of Justice and Defense to arrange Federal ownership of the prison, and prepare for transfer there of both Federal prisoners and Guantanamo detainees.[10] According to previous press reports, the acquisition plan contemplated housing there up to 100 inmates from the camp, in addition to other federal prisoners.[11] The Federal Bureau of Prisons will erect a more secure perimeter fence, so its perimeter security exceeds supermax standards.[12] The portion of the Thomson prison that will be used to house Guantanamo detainees will be operated by the Department of Defense, while the rest of the prison will be operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.[13][14][15] CNN stated that before the decision was announced, many in the town welcomed the idea of Guantanamo prisoner housing in their town as the hopes will revitalize the town's economy and bring jobs.[11][9]
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