Durbin Statement on Auction of Thomson

Press Release

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after the auction of Thomson Correctional Center concluded earlier today.

"The federal Bureau of Prisons has informed me that, though they are still completing the necessary reviews of Thomson Correction Center, acquiring the facility is a top priority of the Obama Administration," said Durbin. "I am encouraged that the negotiations between the State of Illinois and that federal government are ongoing. In anticipation of the two sides eventually agreeing on a price for the sale of Thomson, I have engaged the Attorney General to make sure that the funds are available for purchase. In Congress, the purchase of Thomson enjoys broad bipartisan support and I will work with my colleagues to secure the necessary funding."

Because Congress was unable to come to an agreement on a spending bill for the Fiscal Year 2011 during the lame duck session, Durbin asked the Department of Justice yesterday to help identify unobligated funding for the acquisition of Thomson Correctional Center in Carroll County, Illinois, in order to open it as a federal maximum security prison. In his letter to the Attorney General, Durbin acknowledged that the Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons remains committed to purchasing Thomson Correction Center and both Democrats and Republicans in the Illinois and Iowa Congressional Delegations support the sale. The activation of Thomson Correctional Center by the federal government is expected to create more than 3,100 jobs and inject at least $1 billion into the region's economy.

Source