Illinois town welcomes plan to house Gitmo detainees

[sabra]

Source: AP

Thomson —

The White House decision to move up to 100 Guantanamo Bay detainees to this dying Mississippi River town has folks here seeing dollar signs, not suspected terrorists.

Many people in this rural community are hopeful that their willingness to house the prisoners in a nearly empty penitentiary will offer an economic boost — helping to ease steep job losses and dwindling tax revenue needed to fix roads and pay for schools.

"This is probably the economic-development opportunity of a lifetime for northwest Illinois, and we intend to take full advantage of it," said Russ Simpson, who leads an economic-development group for a three-county area that includes tiny Thomson, about 150 miles west of Chicago.

Until now, the expansive Thomson Correctional Center has been a big disappointment in the town of about 450, where there are no stoplights and the two-block business district is lined with old-fashioned buildings that look like they belong on the set of a Western movie.

Read more: http://www.pjstar.com/news/regional/x967377203/Illinois-town-welcomes-plan-to-house-Gitmo-detainees

[undeterred]

1. I heard a report that this could create 4000 jobs.

I can't see why they wouldn't want the "detainees".

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

2. According to conservatives, Thomson would be a "target" for terrorism

I grew up near there. Unless you're going to blow up what's left of PK McGinnis's melon stand or Casey's General State, there's really a dearth of quality targets in Thomson.

[undeterred]

3. I saw this man from Thomson being interviewed

and he said "I'm a hunter. I can take care of my family no matter who they put in prison here."

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

5. I saw that...

He lookes as though he was standing in a sporting goods store (appeared to be lots of fishing poles behind him). I can tell you that there's not a sporting goods store in Thomson!

He could be just a serious fishman. The Mississippi River is just a about a mile west of the prison and is right on the edge of "suburban" Thomson.

[Luciferous]

6. Actually, a lot of the jobs would go to military personnel, federal

employees, and possibly some of the correctional officers already working at the prison. The real number of jobs being created in the area would be 8-900, but that's still a good amount of jobs for this area.

[murielm99]

7. That's about twice the population of Thomson.

People would move there. Homes would be built. Businesses would expand. There would be a tax base for schools, law enforcement, roads, etc.

Yep, they're farmers, melon growers, hunters and fishermen. Now they might be exposed to some other types of people and have other employment opportunities.

[OneAngryDemocrat]

4. Tea-Bag Protest STILL Scheduled to Go-Ahead

As should the counter protests...

Illinois TEA Party Patriots, who have staged dozens of protests against bailout and federal stimulus spending, plan to rally outside the auditorium 1 hour before the hearing, to protest the plan to house Department of Defense detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in the prison.
http://www.saukvalley.com/articles/2009/12/15/42348290/index.xml

If you can attend, be out there and support American justice over mob-rule revenge!

Tea-Bag Counter-Protest (Gitmo Trials)
Tuesday, December 22nd 2009 1 P.M.
Sterling, IL USA


http://www.unitedforpeace.org/calendar.php?calid=25170