 Residents from the seven-county area surrounding the Thomson, Ill,
prison would be "excellent candidates" for up to 1,400 of the jobs
generated in the deal's first year, according to the report by the
president's Council of Economic Advisers.The report comes as
officials from the federal Bureau of Prisons and the Illinois
Department of Corrections toured the facility Saturday, along with
Democratic lawmakers from Illinois and Iowa.
"It's a great gathering from both sides of the river, Illinois
and Iowa, folks who understand how desperately we need jobs in this
area," said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois. "There are too many people
out of work, there are businesses closing down because people are
out of work. They need paychecks."
Converting, opening and running Thomson as a federal facility
would create 840 to 910 temporary jobs and between 3,180 and 3,880
ongoing jobs over the first four years, according to the White House
report. Jobs not filled by local residents would go to people who
relocate to the area.
Thomson is about 150 miles west of Chicago and was built by the
state in 2001 with 1,600 cells. But budget problems prevented it
from fully opening, and it now houses about 200 minimum-security
inmates. The Department of Defense and Bureau of Prisons would turn
the facility into a federal prison to be used to relocate detainees.
[to top of second column] |
Republican lawmakers largely oppose the plan, raising questions
about the safety of housing terrorism suspects and the deal's true
economic impact.
Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Dubuque, Iowa, and others said those fears
are unfounded.
"The time for fearmongering is over," Braley said. "I have
listened to my constituents all week, and they have told me with a
resounding voice they want these jobs to come to their area."
[Associated Press]
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