View Full Version : Illinois prison to get GITMO detainees.
Streck-Fu
12-15-2009, 07:28
I can't see this being a good thing. Who wants to field the joke about Obama bringing them home to Chicago?
LINK (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-thomson_prison_decisiondec15,0,7234693.story)
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama has directed the federal government to buy the near-empty state prison in rural Thomson, Ill., to house federal inmates and up to 100 detainees from the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, officials said late Monday.
The official announcement is planned for Tuesday and follows weeks of consideration of the Thomson Correctional Center as a site for Guantanamo detainees.
The decision is part of a complicated plan for shutting down the controversial Guantanamo detention center, a lightning rod for anti-American sentiment around the world as a result of what critics say were detainee abuses there during the Bush administration.
Obama ordered the shutdown of the detention center as one of his first acts after inauguration in January.
But closing it has proved to be a cumbersome matter, largely because of the difficulty of finding other places to hold the terrorism suspects.
Illinois and local officials suggested the near-vacant Thomson prison, near the Mississippi River and the Iowa state line. Construction on the prison started in the 1990s and was completed in 2001.
The U.S. is already in the process of sending detainees to their home countries and to third countries on what aides call a "rolling basis" throughout this year. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder recently announced prosecutions in federal courts and military commissions that will begin soon.
The Thomson prison could house 35 to 90 of the Guantanamo detainees, said one source familiar with the discussions.
Toward that end, Obama has directed that the federal government proceed with the acquisition of the Thomson prison center, an administration official said late Monday. The official said the prison would be used to house federal inmates as well as "a limited number of detainees" from Guantanamo Bay.
"Closing the detention center at Guantanamo is essential to protecting our national security and helping our troops by removing a deadly recruiting tool from the hands of al-Qaida," the administration official said.
The announcement on Tuesday "is an important step forward as we work to achieve our national security objectives," the official said.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and Gov. Pat Quinn are scheduled to be in Washington on Tuesday afternoon to be briefed on the decision by administration officials at the White House. Democrats, Durbin and Quinn have been major promoters of the project.
To operate the prison, administration officials have estimated some 3,800 jobs would be created in and around Thomson.
The plan for Thomson has been under consideration for weeks, as first reported by the Tribune's Washington bureau. Over the weekend, administration officials said they were closing in on the Thomson prison as a leading candidate for Guantanamo inmates, but that they hadn't made a final determination.
In previous discussions, aides said the federal government would operate the Thomson site as a prison for its highest-risk inmates, and also turn over a portion to the Department of Defense to take transferees from the U.S. military prison in Cuba.
The administration has also considered the possibility of operating a military tribunal at or near the prison, where the government would try combatants charged with acts of terrorism.
The Thomson site could become the sole location for what the administration calls "long-term detainees," those suspects who will remain in custody but who are not likely to stand trial.
State Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, D-Evanston, who is co-chairing a state panel that will hold a hearing on the issue, said word from the White House is "consistent with everything that I've been led to expect."
"All the signs have pointed toward the Obama administration selecting Thomson as the site," Schoenberg said.
Schoenberg noted that multiple communities have weighed in with resolutions supporting Thomson's effort to become a federal prison.
"For those who live in that job-starved portion of the state, this is undoubtedly very welcome news," Schoenberg said. "Even the most conservative estimates of the economic impact that this would have are considerable."
A hearing on the Thomson prison is set for Dec. 22 in nearby Sterling before a bipartisan legislative panel, the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. The commission will make a recommendation that the Quinn administration can accept or reject on whether to close the prison, which has never been used to its capacity.
The Quinn administration has said that lawmakers do not need to pass legislation for the sale to take place. After the recommendation from the panel, the Quinn administration can sell the prison under the state's surplus property act.
But Republicans have questioned whether the prison can be declared surplus or sold without further action, and they have asked Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan for an opinion on the matter. A Madigan spokeswoman said the office has yet to respond.
Another member of the state legislative panel, State Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford, said late Monday that he has many questions about the deal and "just because the federal government says they want to buy it does not mean, as a state, we want to sell it."
A purchase price has not yet been fully negotiated, according to a source knowledgeable about the discussions.
"At a minimum, we've got to get $80 million to pay off the mortgage and at least $200 million to pay for a replacement facility," said Syverson, who has not taken a position on the sale. "If we're not talking something north of $300 million, we would be cutting ourselves short," Syverson said.
State Sen. Bill Brady, a Bloomington Republican running for governor and a member of the legislative panel, said the president's early commitment for Thomson "just seems wrong."
"The president understands that we've got rules in this state. We've got to go through a hearing process," Brady said. "My personal opinion is that international terrorists ought to continue to be housed in Cuba."
I don't see this being all bad for Illinois, Michigan lobbied hard to get them.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/12/gitmo.michigan/index.html
The prison in Standish is a maximum security facility slated for closure. Some local officials would like to see Guantanamo prisoners brought there as a way to keep the prison open and preserve jobs in an area with more than 20 percent unemployment.
Back before they had decided where the Detainees were to be sent there was a lot of excitement in Michigan. I know a lot of people in the area and things are pretty desperate for a lot of good people.
The Foxs news Ticker said something like : Thomson Corr. Facility to TEMPORARILY (inclines VISITING) House 10 GITMO Detainees.
Streck-Fu
12-15-2009, 08:08
The Foxs news Ticker said something like : Thomson Corr. Facility to TEMPORARILY (inclines VISITING) House 10 GITMO Detainees.
Then the federal government may not look to buy:
"At a minimum, we've got to get $80 million to pay off the mortgage and at least $200 million to pay for a replacement facility," said Syverson, who has not taken a position on the sale. "If we're not talking something north of $300 million, we would be cutting ourselves short," Syverson said.
I tend to believe it will be a long visit, and their friends won't be be too far behind ;)
Well...Illinois prisons do have a lot of experience providing court ordered accomodations for political prisoners - especially those who have held some form of public office in Illinois. ;)
And so it goes...
Richard's $.02 :munchin
Two quotes from the article:
To operate the prison, administration officials have estimated some 3,800 jobs would be created in and around Thomson.
and
The Thomson prison could house 35 to 90 of the Guantanamo detainees, said one source familiar with the discussions.
3,800 employees for 35 inmates = 108 employees per inmate!?
3,800 employees for 90 inmates = 42 employees per inmate!?
So let's do a little "back of the envelope" math:
Assume a bare minimum $20,000 per year average annual salary per employee.
3,800 employees at $20,000 per year is $76 million dollars per year in payroll alone.
Add electricity, water, food, clothing, etc. and it is obvious (except to Congress) that the
plan contemplates spending over $1 million dollars per year per terrorist.
Using Tax Year 2007 figures (the last year for which complete figures are available):
141 million Americans filed and paid income tax.
The total amount of individual income tax paid by those 141 million filers was
1.115 trillion dollars ($1,115,504,000,000), yielding an average income tax paid by each filer of $7,900.
It takes the total income tax paid by 126 Americans to produce $1 million in revenue.
It will take the total income tax of 11,340 Americans to house the terrorists (whether they number
90 or 35) for one year.
Kyobanim
12-15-2009, 10:39
Two quotes from the article:
and
3,800 employees for 35 inmates = 108 employees per inmate!?
3,800 employees for 90 inmates = 42 employees per inmate!?
It's the new "O" math system
Ret10Echo
12-15-2009, 11:10
It's the new "O" math system
Not just "O" math...Stimul"O"s job math. We're creating millions of jobs every day.
Dozer523
12-15-2009, 11:15
In and AROUND Thompson.
Guards got to eat at McDonald's but sometimes Steak and Shake and occasionally, Bennigans.
Guards and waitresses need gas at the local station
Guards, waitresses and gas station attendants need homes so builders need carpenters
Homeowners and renters look a the their kitchens and say "To hell with McDonald's tonight we'll cook." -- then go the the local Piggliy Wiggly for steak and beer (I laughed my ass off the first time I saw a Piggliy Wiggliy -- cuz prison jobs pay pretty good)
It's Macro-Economics 101 baby!:D
I would assume the article only refers to the number of potential Gitmo prisoners due to the article's focus on that topic - I would have to assume that it would also be used to house a far greater number of regular old born and bred in the US of A federally convicted felons once it is opened to the general public.
Richard's $.02 :munchin
Streck-Fu
12-15-2009, 11:19
I would assume the article only refers to the number of potential Gitmo prisoners due to the article's focus on that topic - I would have to assume that it would also be used to house a far greater number of regular old born and bred in the US of A federally convicted felons once it is opened to the general public.
Richard's $.02 :munchin
Quite possible. It would be nice if information like that would be included in the article {glances over to 'history/journalism' thread}.
MackallResident
12-15-2009, 11:32
Quite possible. It would be nice if information like that would be included in the article {glances over to 'history/journalism' thread}.
So, my next assumption is that not only will our born and bred felons be with them, but their will be no gen. pop. at this prison, which to me sucks.
I went years ago with my Platoon SGT to a prison in LA, where he was giving a speach, sort of a scared straight thing. When he was done speaking, their were "Good American" felons cheering for all of us present.
That being said, maybe there could be "Good Americans" there with them with nothing else to lose.
Thought there was a big fuss on the News.. 20/20 or maybe 60 min a while back and I believe I saw something on here about a prison built in Montana that could be used. I might have my facts wrong.
Could we put them in "General Population" at Levenworth?
The entertainment value would be a hit, it would at least give the KS boys something to do.
...[T]he big OWhoa, Brush Okie!:D
There's only one Big O; he sure as heck isn't the current president of the United States.;) He's this guy (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/roberos01.html)!
Here (http://www.sportgeschiedenis.nl/userfiles/oscarRobertson2.jpg), the Big O tells all "Don't even bother trying, it's mine." There (http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/multimedia/photo_gallery/0902/oscar.robertson/images/oscar-robertson-royals.jpg), he takes flight against the greatest defensive player of his day. :lifter
Could we put them in "General Population" at Levenworth?
The entertainment value would be a hit, it would at least give the KS boys something to do.
By overwhelming consensus, we the citizens don't want them any where in the State :D
Source is here (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121454635&ft=1&f=1001).Future Detainee Prison Will Go Beyond 'Supermax'
Thomson Correctional Center, Thomson, Ill.
Enlarge Rex Arbogast/AP
The White House said Tuesday that it will transfer a limited number of terrorism suspects from the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba to a prison in rural Illinois, prompting swift criticism from Republicans worried about increased security risks on U.S. soil.
Officials say federal inmates and no more than 100 detainees would be housed at the maximum-security Thomson Correctional Center, located about 150 miles west of Chicago. The Obama administration says the prison could be used for detainees awaiting military trial or for those who can't be released under any circumstances — but only if Congress agrees to change the law.
The government will acquire the underutilized Illinois prison and transform it into a facility that will "exceed perimeter security standards at the nation's only 'supermax' prison in Florence, Colo.," according to a letter to Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Attorney General Eric Holder and Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair.
Those departments "will work closely with state and local law enforcement authorities to identify and mitigate any risks" at the prison, the letter stated. It also made clear that President Obama "has no intention of releasing any detainees in the United States."
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Quinn were expected to formally announce the news Tuesday afternoon at the White House.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky condemned the administration's plan, saying the American people "already have rejected bringing terrorists to U.S. soil." He accused the White House of failing to explain how transferring some of the detainees to U.S. would be safer than keeping them at the U.S. Navy-run facility in Cuba.
Shortly after taking office, Obama signed an executive order directing the closure of the Guantanamo Bay military prison, which he says has become a symbolic recruiting tool for al-Qaida. However, the task of figuring out what to do with about 215 terrorist suspects there has proven both legally and politically difficult. The White House says detainees can be held safely and securely on U.S. soil, but some Illinois officials say the risk is too great.
Republican Rep. Mark Kirk, who is seeking Obama's old U.S. Senate seat, opposes the move. Kirk has lobbied other officials to contact the White House in opposition to using the facility.
State Rep. Jim Sacia says he isn't thrilled about the prospect of detainees in Illinois, but he disagrees with the safety concerns of his GOP colleagues and says the focus should be on the potential economic benefits.
"I have no doubt in my mind, having sat through several very significant briefings, that keeping the Gitmo prisoners segregated from the remainder of the 1,600 maximum security prisoners will be handled professionally by the military," he said.
Illinois Democrats have enthusiastically embraced the idea of turning the prison over to federal officials as a way to create jobs in a state with roughly 11 percent unemployment.
Sen. Roland Burris said transferring Guantanamo detainees will be "a great economic benefit to the state by creating over 3,000 well-paying jobs and bringing in valuable federal dollars to fund local facility operations." He added that he had "full confidence that the facility will hold these terrorism suspects safely and securely."
Thomson Village President Jerry Hebeler got the news late Monday that his town of 450 residents had been chosen as the site to house detainees from Guantanamo. "It'll be good for the village and the surrounding area, especially with all the jobs that have been lost here," he said.
The Illinois Department of Corrections is ready to transfer out the 200 minimum-security prisoners now housed at the Thomson Correctional Center in anticipation of handing it over to the federal government, IDOC spokeswoman Januari Smith said.
Thomson was built in 2001 as a state prison with the potential to house maximum security inmates. Local officials hoped it would improve the economy, providing jobs to a hard-hit community. However, state budget problems have kept the 1,600-cell prison from ever fully opening.
The facility was one of several sites evaluated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons for their suitability to house detainees from the Navy-run prison at Guantanamo Bay. Other prisons, including Marion, Ill., Hardin, Mont., and Florence, Colo., also expressed interest in taking the Guantanamo detainees to keep prison employees working.
In a Dec. 11 letter to Senate Republicans that was obtained by the Associated Press, Napolitano promised that former Guantanamo detainees' stay on U.S. soil would be temporary.
She wrote that detainees would be treated for immigration purposes as though they were stopped at a U.S. border crossing post. If a detainee were brought to the U.S. for trial, that person could be tried, convicted, serve prison time or be acquitted, Napolitano said.
Congress passed a measure earlier this year that would bar terrorism suspects from U.S. soil unless they were going to be prosecuted. Democrats plan to lift that restriction if the White House can show it has a secure plan for housing the inmates.
By overwhelming consensus, we the citizens don't want them any where in the State :D
I feel your pain, I wouldn't want them either.
Could we send them to the Israeli authorities, or would I be hurting someone's sensibilities. They could share a ride with a buch of Marines or 30,000 soldiers to Afganistan.
I say give them a choice, General Population in any of our nation's prisions or a free trip to A-Stan, but of course, with a dog chip in their skulls.
I wonder how much this favor will cost the President...yes...yet another "favor" from the politicians in IL doesn't come free. After all, Obama campaigned to close GITMO...and now got IL to bail him out.
As far as I'm concerned the area in and around the facility now has a bull's eye over it. It's too close for comfort for me.
All these "great" politicians in this state and THIS is how those SOBs want to create jobs? Bringing terrorists on to US soil? Yeah, that's much better than lowering taxes for companies so they may consider moving/staying here, looking hard at the unions which have cost more loss of business for trade shows due to their ridiculously high rates and stupid rules and giving small business owners incentives in order for them to hire more people. :rolleyes:
testedone
12-15-2009, 19:36
maybe I am wrong, but if they ever allow them in to the general population they would be a great recruitment tool for Islam, there is a large Islam population in and amongst prison population, the prisoners are perfect pray for recruitment and I could only see these guys being lifted up as some sort of cult status in the prison.
Being from the peoples republic of IL I am amazed everyday how corrupt the state is and many times how stupid some people are...
Gee lets build a supermax prison because we need jobs and put "suspected terrorist" in it, right in our backyard when we have a facility that has been working off of our own (American) soil.. :confused:
Kind of like most of the areas where people were all for river boat gambling and those areas are crime ridden cesspools but hey it makes jobs and brings money into the economy :confused::confused:
looking hard at the unions which have cost more loss of business for trade shows due to their ridiculously high rates and stupid rules and giving small business owners incentives in order for them to hire more people. :rolleyes:
You cannot plug an extension cord in your booth without an union electrician.
You cannot plug an extension cord in your booth without an union electrician.
Yep, and that's just for starters.
alright4u
12-16-2009, 01:04
Two quotes from the article:
and
3,800 employees for 35 inmates = 108 employees per inmate!?
3,800 employees for 90 inmates = 42 employees per inmate!?
So let's do a little "back of the envelope" math:
Assume a bare minimum $20,000 per year average annual salary per employee.
3,800 employees at $20,000 per year is $76 million dollars per year in payroll alone.
Add electricity, water, food, clothing, etc. and it is obvious (except to Congress) that the
plan contemplates spending over $1 million dollars per year per terrorist.
Using Tax Year 2007 figures (the last year for which complete figures are available):
141 million Americans filed and paid income tax.
The total amount of individual income tax paid by those 141 million filers was
1.115 trillion dollars ($1,115,504,000,000), yielding an average income tax paid by each filer of $7,900.
It takes the total income tax paid by 126 Americans to produce $1 million in revenue.
It will take the total income tax of 11,340 Americans to house the terrorists (whether they number
90 or 35) for one year.
Amazing.
Warrior-Mentor
12-16-2009, 10:35
Whoa, Brush Okie!:D
There's only one Big O; he sure as heck isn't the current president of the United States.;) He's this guy (http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/roberos01.html)!
Here (http://www.sportgeschiedenis.nl/userfiles/oscarRobertson2.jpg), the Big O tells all "Don't even bother trying, it's mine." There (http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/multimedia/photo_gallery/0902/oscar.robertson/images/oscar-robertson-royals.jpg), he takes flight against the greatest defensive player of his day. :lifter
I thought the big "O" was a woman:
http://tokyohiltonrocks.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/oprah-winfrey1.jpg
This thread inspires a VIDEO TRIBUTE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3S7mlRYL-8
AMERIKA
Written by Neil Diamond
Far
THEY've been traveling far
Without a home
But not without a PROFIT
SHARIA
Only want to HAVE SHARIA
We PLOT AND PLAN
Hang on to a KORAN
On the boats and on the planes
They're CRASHING INTO America
Never looking back again
They're CRASHING INTO America
Home, don't it seem so far away
Oh, we're traveling light today
In the eye of the storm
In the eye of the storm
Home, to a new and a shiny place
Make our bed, and we'll say our prayers TO MECCA
AIRPLANE FUEL burning warm
AIRPLANE FUEL burning warm
Everywhere around the world
They're coming to SHARIA
Every time that flag OF JIHAD'S unfurled
They're coming to SHARIA
Got a dream to take them there
They're coming to SHARIA
Got a dream they've come to share
They're coming to SHARIA
They're coming to SHARIA
They're coming to SHARIA
They're coming to SHARIA
They're coming to SHARIA
Today, today, today, today, today
My country 'tis of thee
Today
Sweet land of POVERTY
Today
Of thee I CAN'T sing
Today
Of thee I CAN'T sing
Today
Warrior-Mentor
12-16-2009, 10:39
...on a serious note, I heard on the radio that the Administration is already discussing adding other prisoners to this facility...so we get to co-mingle them with the GITMO terrorists?
Has anyone seen this written up?
testedone
12-16-2009, 10:42
To funny!! :p:D
I thought the big "O" was a woman:
http://tokyohiltonrocks.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/oprah-winfrey1.jpg
This thread inspires a VIDEO TRIBUTE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3S7mlRYL-8
AMERIKA
Written by Neil Diamond
Far
THEY've been traveling far
Without a home
But not without a PROFIT
SHARIA
Only want to HAVE SHARIA
We PLOT AND PLAN
Hang on to a KORAN
On the boats and on the planes
They're CRASHING INTO America
Never looking back again
They're CRASHING INTO America
Home, don't it seem so far away
Oh, we're traveling light today
In the eye of the storm
In the eye of the storm
Home, to a new and a shiny place
Make our bed, and we'll say our prayers TO MECCA
AIRPLANE FUEL burning warm
AIRPLANE FUEL burning warm
Everywhere around the world
They're coming to SHARIA
Every time that flag OF JIHAD'S unfurled
They're coming to SHARIA
Got a dream to take them there
They're coming to SHARIA
Got a dream they've come to share
They're coming to SHARIA
They're coming to SHARIA
They're coming to SHARIA
They're coming to SHARIA
They're coming to SHARIA
Today, today, today, today, today
My country 'tis of thee
Today
Sweet land of POVERTY
Today
Of thee I CAN'T sing
Today
Of thee I CAN'T sing
Today
...on a serious note, I heard on the radio that the Administration is already discussing adding other prisoners to this facility...so we get to co-mingle them with the GITMO terrorists?
Has anyone seen this written up?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/17/illinois-gitmo-fact-check_n_361433.html
CHICAGO — As the Obama administration considers a plan to move Guantanamo Bay detainees to prisons on U.S. soil, including possible sites in Illinois and Michigan, proponents and critics are spinning the facts.
The nearly vacant Thomson Correctional Center in the western Illinois farming town of Thomson is the latest potential candidate being evaluated to hold detainees after President Barack Obama promised to close the military-run detention center in Cuba.
Federal officials inspected Thomson on Monday after visiting another proposed site, a shuttered prison in the northeast Michigan town of Standish, in August.
Here is a look at some of claims about security, economic impact and prison visitors if Guantanamo Bay detainees are locked up in the U.S.
___
CLAIMS: Critics, including Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk and several other Congress members from Illinois, contend moving Guantanamo prisoners there would make the state – with its signature Chicago skyscrapers – a terrorist target. Opponents in Michigan, including U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra, the ranking Republican on the House intelligence committee, raised similar concerns.
FACTS: Convicted terrorists already are held in U.S. prisons. Federal Bureau of Prisons director Harley Lappin said more than 340 international and domestic terrorists currently are incarcerated.
Lappin said the bureau already works with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to assess threats.
Story continues below
Northwestern University law professor Joseph Margulies, who has represented detainees, agreed that moving them to a U.S. prison would not affect any risk of a terrorist attack. Chicago has been on guard against terrorism since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
In Michigan, Standish residents scoffed at the notion of their town, population 1,500, as a terrorist target. Residents of Thomson, a village of about 450 people, did too.
If Chicago is a terrorist target, they say, it's because it's a big city and not because detainees would be locked up in Illinois.
___
CLAIMS: Detainees moved from Guantanamo Bay would be able to recruit other inmates to terrorism if held in a U.S. prison.
FACTS: Detainees would be overseen by the military and would not mingle with other federal inmates, said Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Felicia Ponce.
If Thomson is chosen, the bureau would buy the prison and lease a "small" portion of it to the Department of Defense to house the detainees. The remainder would be operated as a high-security prison with between 1,500 and 1,600 inmates, Lappin said.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin has said there would be fewer than 100 detainees at Thomson. Lappin said Monday there would be a "limited" number of detainees and they would be in Department of Defense custody.
The Michigan prison, which closed Oct. 31 because of budget cuts, has a capacity of about 600.
___
CLAIMS: Federal prisoners are allowed visitors so al-Qaida followers and family members would visit detainees.
FACTS: The Department of Defense does not allow detainees to have visitors. Phil Carter, deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee policy, said detainees' only visitors at Guantanamo Bay are attorneys, the Red Cross and diplomatic and law enforcement personnel.
"They would not have friends and family coming to visit them here so that's not a concern," Carter said.
___
CLAIMS: Bringing Guantanamo detainees to Illinois or Michigan would bring jobs to small prison towns.
Durbin and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn say selling the Thomson prison to the federal government would generate about 3,000 jobs both directly at the facility and indirectly in the community.
Supporters in Michigan said the prison complex there could employ 500 to 1,200, including guards and military officials, and create spinoff jobs for construction workers, contractors and others.
Opponents say the numbers are inflated.
FACTS: An economist says the reality is probably somewhere between predictions floated by supporters and critics.
University of Chicago economist Allen Sanderson said job creation numbers "tend to be gross overestimates."
"You should take them with more than one grain of salt although it's not recommended by a doctor," Sanderson joked.
If Thomson is chosen, Lappin said the bureau of prisons would employ about 800 to 900 people, including 250 to 300 people moved in from other facilities to quickly get the prison up and running. Carter said the defense department would have as many as 1,500 military, civilian and contractor personnel there. The majority would be military.
In Michigan, critics argue that economic impact and job creation forecasts are debatable because, they say, detainees' presence would scare tourists away from the rural community near Lake Huron.
___
Associated Press Writer John Flesher in Traverse City, Mich., contributed to this report.
Warrior-Mentor
12-16-2009, 22:48
Thanks Paslode.