IL-SEN, IL-GOV: It's the detainees, stupid
The Illinois Senate and Governor's races are going to be about detainees for a little while now. Specifically, the Guantanamo detainees whose accommodation President Obama wants to stop off-shoring so that folks back home can start enjoying their company. It is proposed that quite a few of them would be given space in the Thomson Correctional Facility, about 150 miles due west of Chicago. Democratic Governor Pat Quinn is "a big proponent" of the plan, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, which reports on reaction from candidates to the proposal.
Republicans, on the whole, are not happy. Senate candidate Mark Kirk fears that anywhere where Guantanamo detainees might be accommodated or tried (which might include Chicago) "will become ground zero for jihadist terrorist plots, recruitment and radicalization." Gubernatorial candidate Andy McKenna said he opposed "efforts to move Gitmo detainees to our neighborhoods." Here, just for the sake of completeness, is the neighbourhood of the Thomson Correctional Center on Google Streetview:
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Fellow Republican gubernatorial candidates Dan Proft and Bill Brady argued that Thomson could be put to better use easing overcrowding in Illinois' other prisons.
Most Democrats argued that Kirk and McKenna were scaremongering, pointing out that the detainees in Thomson would be, you know, in prison. "To suggest that a federal super-maximum prison here in Illinois - with additional Defense Department security - would not be able to hold terrorists is an attempt to score cheap political points," said Senate candidate David Hoffman. (Technically, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections website, Thomson is "Level 1: Maximum Security" rather than "super-maximum".) Governor Quinn argues that bringing the detainees to Illinois will create 3,000 new jobs in the state. However, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Hynes said he has "serious concerns" about the plan, reports NBC Chicago, while William 'Dock' Walls shares the concerns of Kirk and McKenna.
Republicans, on the whole, are not happy. Senate candidate Mark Kirk fears that anywhere where Guantanamo detainees might be accommodated or tried (which might include Chicago) "will become ground zero for jihadist terrorist plots, recruitment and radicalization." Gubernatorial candidate Andy McKenna said he opposed "efforts to move Gitmo detainees to our neighborhoods." Here, just for the sake of completeness, is the neighbourhood of the Thomson Correctional Center on Google Streetview:
View Larger Map
Fellow Republican gubernatorial candidates Dan Proft and Bill Brady argued that Thomson could be put to better use easing overcrowding in Illinois' other prisons.
Most Democrats argued that Kirk and McKenna were scaremongering, pointing out that the detainees in Thomson would be, you know, in prison. "To suggest that a federal super-maximum prison here in Illinois - with additional Defense Department security - would not be able to hold terrorists is an attempt to score cheap political points," said Senate candidate David Hoffman. (Technically, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections website, Thomson is "Level 1: Maximum Security" rather than "super-maximum".) Governor Quinn argues that bringing the detainees to Illinois will create 3,000 new jobs in the state. However, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Hynes said he has "serious concerns" about the plan, reports NBC Chicago, while William 'Dock' Walls shares the concerns of Kirk and McKenna.
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