Thomson, Ill., in store for upheaval if Guantanamo Bay detainees come

THOMSON, Ill. - Many residents here say they can deal with traffic jams and helicopters overhead if Guantanamo Bay detainees are transferred to region's state prison building.

If, that is, the dust comes off other plans: those for new housing subdivisions, hotels and shops shelved when the state prison was scaled back years ago.

That's part of the discussion as this region across the Mississippi River from Iowa slowly gets a look at how its future could take shape.

Some of that discussion played out in Sterling, Ill., last Tuesday night when federal and state authorities faced harsh questioning from Republican lawmakers and a chilly audience reception.

“There were people who had a hard time adapting to our first stoplight,” said Larry Stebbins, the mayor of Savanna, Ill., about five minutes from Thomson. “It's impossible for me to tell you what this is going to look like, but I do know that we need some kind of change.”

Thomson had a maximum-security, 146-acre facility in place for state inmates. Now authorities are planning another perimeter fence to make Thomson the “most secure facility in the nation,” in the words of a White House official.

Officials envision a sprawling self-contained campus much like Guantanamo Bay has. Officials want to upgrade Thomson's health center, with its 16-bed infirmary and two crisis-care rooms, to avoid taking detainees to civilian hospitals.

The Pentagon expects to deploy 1,000 to 1,500 people, about two-thirds military and one-third civilian. Service members would not bring their families during the first year, to give school districts time to prepare. Enlisted soldiers might end up living at a nearby military installation, one official said.

Because Thomson would host military tribunals, the government will ask some staff to remain undercover to avoid becoming targets. More security muscle will come from the U.S. Marshal's Service, which will protect judges, jurors and prosecutors and their relatives, if necessary.

Federal prison officials say half their hires in Thomson will be local but count a seven-county expanse as local, including large populations in Iowa more than an hour away.

The hassles will be worth it if the facility revives the local economy, many residents said. But experience shows that is far from a guarantee. Florence, Colo., landed a “supermax” prison 15 years ago but a ballyhooed building boom was confined to a Super 8 motel, credit unions and antiques shops. Most workers moved elsewhere.

An analysis by Obama's Council of Economic Advisers estimated up to $1.1 billion in additional area spending during the first four years of operation and up to 3,800 ongoing jobs.

Iowa State University sociologist Terry Besser, an expert on prison economics, doubts the Thomson region would see major industry to keep the prison humming. Prison systems generally purchase from suppliers under contract, most based outside the area.

By Oscar Avila and Katherine Skiba, Chicago Tribune