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One Step Forward, Three Steps BackThomson, IL (Apr. 14, 2009) - In a show of good faith and gratitude for the efforts of several Northwest Illinois leaders to help keep the Pontiac Correctional Center open, State Senator Dan Rutherford (R-Pontiac) personally visited the Thomson Correctional Center to show full support to fully fund the opening of the state-of-the-art facility in Thomson. State Representative Jim Sacia (R-89, Pecatonica) joined the Senator at the prison site on Tuesday, April 14. Rutherford stressed the need for cooperation among legislators on both sides of the aisle, the Dept. of Corrections, and Governor Pat Quinn. One step forward"Illinois has a correctional system that is at 135% of capacity and 179 percent in maximum security," Rutherford told the crowd of local residents and business and government officials. "We now have a Governor who understands that our correctional centers are overburdened. I believe that a fully funded Thomson Correctional Center will not only help the economy of Northwest Illinois, but also be a major asset to public safety for our state. It is important that Thomson be fully funded and staffed in order to ease some of the burden on the entire state correctional system." Rutherford's appearance came during the legislative Spring Break and just prior to the state's fiscal year 2010 budget being finalized. The Thomson Correctional Center was completed in 2001, and just recently partially opened for minimum security use in 2008. Three hundred new DOC officers were either transferred or trained and hired to serve at the facility early this spring, but after only one week, 200 of them were dispersed to other prison facilities in Dixon, Rock Island, Joliet, and others. Gov. Quinn recently announced that the Pontiac Correctional Center was to be spared from a closure decision made by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. "The people of Central Illinois worked long and hard to keep PCC open for the benefit of the local economy and to not exacerbate an already overcrowded, understaffed prison system," Rutherford added. "Those interested in a good public safety network for IDOC must now turn their efforts toward the opening of the Thomson facility. "Sound public policy dictates that we have all of our correctional assets open and fully utilized. I am lending my support to help Northwest Illinois and the statewide correctional system. Simply put, Thomson needs to be opened." Three steps backOn Friday, April 17, it was announced that six maintenance employees at the Thomson Correctional Center were "let go." What this action means in relation to the efforts to fully fund the opening of the Thomson facility is yet to be determined. Attempts to contact the IDOC and one of the workers involved were to no avail as of press time. At their April 15 meeting, the Carroll County Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) decided to join the efforts of Rutherford, Sacia, Sen. Mike Jacobs (D-Moline), and Rep. Mike Boland (D-71-Moline), and will visit Springfield in a cooperative effort to state the case to fully fund operations at TCC.
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