Bureau of Prisons Wants Thomson Prison, With or Without Gitmo Detainees

Will reduce federal prison overcrowding, but will it make Illinois DOC conditions worse, and can the Fed’s afford it?

By Tom Kocal

Plans to purchase the Thomson Correctional Center by the Obama administration, regardless of whether Congress allows terrorist suspects to be transferred there, are moving forward, Department of Justice official said Thursday, March 18, in a letter to U.S. Congressman Don Manzullo and other members of the Illinois delegation to Congress.

The letter comes in response to questions posed by Rep. Donald Manzullo, the Republican Representative in the 16th Congressional District, sent in late November 2009.

Thomson Federal Penitentiary

The Department of Justice letter from Asst. Atty. Gen. Ronald Weich stated, “We agree with your assessment that the facility is ‘ideally suited to help the U.S. Department of Justice, federal Bureau of Prisons meet their growing demands for more prison capacity.’”

Weich said the administration’s intent was to go ahead with plans to buy the near-empty Thomson prison, even if lawmakers refuse to approve its use as a new home for detainees at the military-run prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

At the very least, Weich said, the federal Bureau of Prisons intends to use the facility for high-security federal inmates.

The Dept. of Justice has asked for $237 million in the Fiscal year 2011 budget to “acquire, activate, and operate the facility in Thomson.” It also has the option of requesting funds sooner than that to upgrade the security provisions at the prison and prepare it for its intended use.

Briefing in Thomson

Rich Carter, Director of Communications for Rep. Manzullo, said Friday that Manzullo attended a briefing in Thomson last week, and “learned some things that we weren’t aware of.”

For many people in the State of Illinois, the purchase price of the prison is a concern, given that the state has serious financial problems. Carter said that the proposed $237 million appropriation is for “the purchase price and the operation of the facility for the first year. It is difficult to determine the actual purchase price, because negotiations between the BoP and the state have not yet taken place.”

Carter said that after the Tuesday, December 22, 2009 Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability hearing in Sterling to publicly discuss the proposed sale, they thought Gov. Pat Quinn had “the green light” to begin negotiations. But at the briefing, they learned that despite the appraisal being completed, negotiations cannot begin until the $237 million is actually appropriated by Congress. September 30 is the end of the government’s fiscal year, but traditionally, the budget does not get approved by then. Congress usually approves a “Continuing Resolution” which allows the government to be funded at existing levels in order to prevent it from being shut down for lack of funds. The budget is usually not approved until late December through February, 3 to 5 months later.

“Unless they address the issue separately, the funds may not be appropriated until the end of 2010 and into the first quarter of 2011,” Carter said. “Sometimes, certain bills get passed on their own. There are 13 different appropriations. Each is reviewed and passed individually by the House, then the Senate. A “conference committee’ is then called between the two branches in order to work out the differences and details. The bill goes back to the House, then the Senate, for final approval.

“But only one bill has been addressed - the healthcare bill. No others have been dealt with.”

DoD budget

President Obama has directed the DoJ to buy the facility “to fulfill both of the goals of reducing federal prison overcrowding and transferring a limited number of detainees out of Guantanamo,” the letter stated. The still state-owned Thomson prison is critical to Obama’s plan to shut down the Guantanamo Bay prison, which administration officials consider to be a recruiting tool for anti-American extremists.

However, the department “would be seeking to purchase the facility in Thomson even if detainees were not being considered for transfer there,” the letter says.

Some members of Congress, as well as some local residents and government officials, are worried about the political and security fallout of moving terror suspects to the continental U.S. Unless Congress changes current law, Guantanamo inmates can’t be transferred to the U.S. for any purpose other than trial.

Despite the fact that the current law has not been changed to allow for this scenario, the Dept. of Defense (DoD) is moving ahead with plans to request an additional $350 million to the Defense Budget, just for terrorists at “Gitmo North.”

“The state-of-the-art Thomson Correctional Center fits the bill for the Bureau of Prisons’ needs,” Carter said. “For example, the Florence Federal Corrections Complex in Colorado houses 400 prisoners. Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Harley Lappin told us the Thomson facility needs absolutely no refurbishing, it is already maximum security, is fairly new, and large enough to meet the BOP’s needs. It’s not only 4-times bigger than Florence, but it’s ready to go.”

But Carter said the DoD will need to do plenty of work to prepare for the terrorists - $350 million worth.

“The Department of Defense’s operation would involve about one third of the prison’s space. That means 3 of the 8 pods. Each pod has 200 cells. The 5 pods that the BoP will need equal 1000 cells. They are requesting $237 million to buy the whole prison, and operate their portion of it for the first year.

“The DoD will use 3 pods, designed for 600 prisoners, to house 60 to 100 terrorists, though the number of Guantanamo detainees to be moved there is still uncertain,” Carter added. “That budget includes 700 soldiers on-site, plus 500 more at the Rock Island Arsenal to provide support. A ‘server farm’ will also be set up at the arsenal to provide better broadband support for the defense operations in Thomson. The DoD also plans to build an internal fence around the 3 pods to separate them from the rest of the prison, then build another outside security fence around the current one.”

Carter said they also plan to renovate the 3 pods, gutting them and replacing with more secure bed frames, sinks, etc., and replacing the cell doors with clear plastic doors.

“This $350 million additional defense department budget is just for terrorists. They are not closing Gitmo, just moving it to Thomson. We also learned that the threat assessment hasn’t been, and won’t be, conducted until after the appropriation is passed. This is money that the American people don’t have. Notwithstanding the fiscal crisis, it’s going to be a real tough sell.”

Cart before the horse?

At the briefing, Manzullo learned that the IDOC guards at Thomson got layoff notices last week, since the state plans to shut down and vacate the prison April 30, before negotiations for the sale price have even started.

Regarding the sale price, Illinois Representative Jim Sacia (R-89, Pecatonica) confirmed that “If there has been any discussion on the sale price of the prison, I don’t know specifically. What I do know is that it cost $140 million to build 10 years ago, and that it will cost at least twice that much to rebuild a similar facility. If we have the opportunity to sell it in the neighborhood of $140 million, I say it’s the right move, and I believe there is an overwhelming feeling in Northwest Illinois that this is a good move by the State.”

Sacia added the estimated economic impact on the region as a result of the facility being operated as a federal prison is about $80 million per year. “For the sake of discussion, let’s just cut that in half - say $40 million each year - added to Northwest Illinois’ economy. Not bad.”

Regarding the plight of the employees at Thomson and other state facilities, “There are many state prison guards that feel like they’re being shafted with this proposal,” said Sacia. “But those that are under 35 years of age will have the chance to apply for a federal job, and those that are long-time state employees over that age limit will not be forgotten. They will still have a good paying job with the IDOC.

“That ‘mausoleum in a cornfield’ is simply ridiculous. The jobs and tremendous economic impact that opening Thomson as a federal prison is what this area needs. I’m for it 100%”

The DOC blame game

How is the State of Illinois preparing to replace the facility’s 1800 cells in an already severely overcrowded and understaffed system?

“As far as I know, there has been no discussion in the legislature regarding how to remedy this situation,” Sacia said. “I’m sure there has been at the gubernatorial level, but right now I am very concerned about three top officials in the IDOC that were fired last week.”

Sacia was referring to Governor Pat Quinn’s decision to let three of the department’s top administrators go, although not much is being said as to why.

In several on-line reports, IDOC spokeswoman Sharyn Elman confirmed the three are Executive Director Michael Randle’s assistant Sergio Molina, IDOC chief of staff Jim Reinhart, and regional supervisor Jac Charlier, who oversaw operations in northern Illinois. Executive Director Randle will retain his post. “Since this is a personnel issue, the agency cannot comment further.”

Molina told Rep. Sacia that he was not given an explanation for his firing.

“Sergio Molina started with the DOC 25 years ago as a prison guard, and worked his way up in the system,” Sacia said. “Sergio was my go-to guy the past 10 years while trying to open the Thomson prison. I have never known a finer, more upstanding man as Sergio Molina and how he represented the DOC.”

Sacia said he had three separate one-on-one conversations with Gov. Quinn last week, and that Quinn didn’t say a word about Molina’s termination.

“They threw him under the bus,” Sacia stated. “This is just speculation on my part, but it’s a political move. There was such a huge outcry in the legislature about the Governor’s early release program, they felt that by getting rid of these three would take the pressure off Gov. Quinn. Mike Randle is still being supported by him. We’re making a huge mistake.”

The early-release programs that Sacia is referring to were aborted by Quinn when his primary rival, Comptroller Dan Hynes, made them a major campaign issue.

“The director stood with the governor and accepted full responsibility for the early release program, and that’s precisely where the responsibility lies,” Molina told the Chicago Sun-Times.

He added, though, that neither he nor his two former colleagues were responsible for the early release initiatives that became a hot-button issue in last month’s gubernatorial primary.

The American Federation of State, County, Municipal Employees union (AFSCME), Rep. Mike Boland, and Senators Mike Jacobs and Tim Bivins were contacted for comment, but The Prairie Advocate received no replies before press time. But in a press release from Jan. 7, 2010, AFSCME’s Henry Bayer said that, “for years AFSCME has raised concerns about reckless budget cuts, mismanagement and neglect that have left state prisons severely short of staff”. Yet it appears that the premature-release programs were intended to justify the governor’s threatened layoff of more than 1,000 prison employees.”

Bayer emphasized that “state prisons are increasingly dangerous” due to lack of staff, noting recent “disturbing outbreaks of violence” by prison inmates against employees at the Pinckneyville, Hill, Dixon, Pontiac, Illinois River, Logan and other facilities.

“These crises cannot be allowed to fester. Past patterns of cuts, mismanagement and neglect must not be repeated,” Bayer concluded. “The legislature has both the power to oversee the operation of state prisons, and the responsibility to serve as a co-equal check on the executive branch. In that capacity, I urge you to appoint a special joint task force to seek answers to these mushrooming scandals for the benefit of the people of Illinois.”

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