Terror suspects, that are currently being held at a U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will soon be residing at Thompson Correctional Facility in Illinois. The maximum security prison is located about 150 miles west of Chicago in Thompson, Illinois.
President Barack Obama ordered the federal government to acquire the underused prison and transform it to meet "supermax standards", according to a letter received by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn. The letter was signed by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Attorney General Eric Holder and director of national intelligence Dennis C. Blair.
The development is estimated to create 2,000 prison jobs and 1,000 jobs in the community. Thompson congressman, Don Manzullo, does not support the decision and says, "I adamantly oppose this plan to bring the terrorists to Northwestern Illinois where they could one day be released into our communities. Our residents in Carrol County and throughout Northwestern Illinois desperately need jobs, but bringing the world's most dangerous terrorists to Northern Illinois would do more harm than good in the long run."
The bottom line is that Illinois spent $145 million dollars on a prison that is three-quarters empty and currently only being used to house 200 minimum security detainees. The state needs this money and especially the jobs. I believe that in order to stop terrorism, we need a better understanding of why these individuals commit such heinous acts. By having these criminals in the United States we can not only give them a sense of what America really stands for, but more importantly, professionals can monitor their behaviors which will enable us to better detect individuals who are a potential threat to this country.
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