* The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability’s hearing yesterday on selling the Thomson prison to the federal government contained this priceless line…
Opponents groaned and hissed when Quinn’s chief operating officer, Jack Levin, said his boss “would never do anything that puts people at risk.”
Yeah, OK. Quinn has two early prison release programs that are both under fire for putting people at risk. The budget is in such bad shape that at-risk citizens aren’t getting much-needed services. But he wouldn’t do anything to put anyone at risk. Sure.
Credibility is a tough thing to regain. I think much of the opposition to Thomson is based on extreme partisanship and bizarre fears…
One opponent held a sign criticizing the governor: “Quinn to Jihad: Come on inn!”
And…
“I don’t want terrorists in my backyard,” said Diane Bishop, 52, a real estate appraiser who drove two hours from her suburban Chicago home to attend the hearing. “It’s too close to home. They shouldn’t be in the United States.”
And…
“Terrorists would want to hit us to make a point, here in the Midwest, in the American heartland,” protester Amanda Norms said before the meeting. “Is a little economic gain worth the risk?”
And…
But I don’t blame people for booing Lavin’s line one bit.
* Meanwhile, we’re starting to get more info about who will be sent to the prison…
While Guantanamo detainees can get visits only from their attorneys and human rights groups, federal officials opened the door for other terror suspects at Thomson to get outside visits. That is a main concern for opponents — not that prisoners will escape, but that radical sympathizers will be drawn to Thomson.
Lappin said Thomson will be a candidate to jail terrorists convicted in federal court, including those involved in the Sept. 11 attacks. Those convicts also could end up in other prisons in Colorado, Indiana and Illinois, but those facilities already face space crunches. And Thomson would be the most secure federal prison, officials said.
Lappin emphasized that any potential visitors would go through background screening and that their interaction with inmates would be monitored.
More…
Harley Lappin, director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, gave some indication of the type of federal prisoner who would be brought to Thomson. To date, most of the focus has been on the foreign detainees.
Lappin said there are prisoners in the federal system who have been “difficult and disruptive” who would be candidates for Thomson.
“We’re going to bring in some pretty risky folks,” Lappin said. Many of the inmates, he said, would spend a great deal of their time locked in their cells, but that would facilitate the Defense Department mission.
The administration has said the federal inmates and the Guantanamo Bay detainees would be kept apart, and that the Bureau of Prisons and Defense Department would run separate operations.
And the state police director says he’ll need more cash…
Jonathon Monken, director of the Illinois State Police, said the only way state authorities can mitigate the risk is if federal authorities enter into a long-term financial arrangement.
Monken estimated that the state police will need at least $1 million up front to manage the risk.
Thoughts?
*** UPDATE *** The NY Times reports the Thomson prison can’t be purchased for probably another year or so…
The federal Bureau of Prisons does not have enough money to pay Illinois for the center, which would cost about $150 million. Several weeks ago, the White House approached the House Appropriations Committee and floated the idea of adding about $200 million for the project to the military spending bill for the 2010 fiscal year, according to administration and Congressional officials.
But Democratic leaders refused to include the politically charged measure in the legislation. When lawmakers approved the bill on Dec. 19, it contained no financing for Thomson.
The administration will probably not have another opportunity until Congress takes up a supplemental appropriations bill for the Afghanistan war. Lawmakers are not likely to finish that bill until late March or April.
Moreover, the administration now says that the current focus for Thomson financing is the appropriations legislation for the 2011 fiscal year. Congress will not take that measure up until late 2010.