Posted on 12/17/2010 11:03:43 PM PST by STARWISE
Illinois Republicans were successful Friday in stripping a provision from a House defense bill that would have given permission for the transfer to the U.S. of detainees in the Guantanamo Bay military prison.
The issue is of special importance to Illinois GOP lawmakers because earlier this year the Obama administration moved to buy an underutilized state prison in Thomson, Ill., in part to house Guantanamo detainees.
Closing Guantanamo was a central Obama pledge that the president has not been able to keep — a promise made during his campaign and on his first day in office. Congress needs to give permission for any transfer of a Guantanamo prisoner to the U.S.
On Friday morning, Sen. Mark Kirk, who on Nov. 29 moved to the Senate from the House, had threatened to block the Senate from taking up the defense bill if it came to the Senate from the House with language in it allowing the prisoner transfer. In the Senate, one senator has the power to stop a bill.
On the Senate floor on Friday night, Kirk noted that this was an “important week” for him in part because “we stopped a House effort this morning to permit . . . Guantanamo Bay terrorists from being transferred to the Heartland, likely Thomson, Ill. The revised bill prohibits such a transfer.”
Kirk “worked with the Illinois GOP on this all morning to get the language changed,” said Kirk spokesman Kate Dickens.
In a statement, Rep. Aaron Schock said “Kirk and Schock worked vigorously with House leadership to ensure the language was changed before it made it to the House floor for a vote. As early as this morning, the entire Defense Authorization Bill was in jeopardy as Illinois Republicans pledged to lead a fight to stop the bill if it was not changed back to current policy prohibiting the transfer of GITMO detainees to the U.S. mainland.”
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Thomson Correctional Center sat as cold and quiet as the snow surrounding the structure on Thursday. Over a year ago the federal government expressed interest in buying the facility, and eight months ago the Illinois Department of Corrections closed the prison and transferred the few remaining inmates and employees to facilitate that sale.
Now a “For Sale” sign sits outside of the prison. It went up after the ownership of the site was transferred from the Illinois Department of Corrections to the state’s Central Management Services through a quitclaim deed filed in the Carroll County courthouse in early December.
“(The transfer of ownership) is a required procedural step necessary for sale of any state facility,” Grant Klinzman, a spokesman for Gov. Quinn’s office replied in an e-mail on Thursday.
In order for the state to sell the prison it must be deemed surplus property, so the facility was closed April 30 and ownership was transferred to the CMS, who handles the state’s surplus.
On Tuesday, Dec. 21, Thomson C.C. will go up on the auction block at the Michael Bilandic Building in Chicago at 10 a.m., according to Klinzman. Klinzman said that the building can not be sold at the auction for less than the appraised value, and anyone bidding would be required to deposit 10 percent of the bid.
The appraised value of the prison — averaged from two state and one federal appraisals — was just under $220 million. The inability of the prison to sell — at a minimum bid of $219,932,218 — will allow the government to purchase the facility for less than its appraisal value at a later time.
The government has yet to approve funding for the purchase of the prison.
Originally, President Barack Obama hoped to utilize the prison to house Guantanamo Bay detainees — fulfilling a campaign promise to close the controversial Cuban prison — but that plan has fallen by the wayside after strong pressure from Congress.
The president later stated that the government was still interested in purchasing the prison whether or not the Gitmo detainees were housed there.
The $1.1 trillion spending bill recently proposed by the U.S. Senate contains $269 million for facilities in the federal prison system, though Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesperson Traci Billingsley wouldn’t confirm if the funds would be used for the purchase of Thomson C.C. Until the federal funding is approved, the wait in Thomson will continue.
Union against sale
Earlier this month the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) called for Gov. Quinn to halt the auction of the prison.
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Thank God! Just one powerful change and saving grace wrought by Nov. 2. Giannoulias would've rubber stamped it. May sanity continue to grow and reign. Thank God for the Tea Party!
Kirk and Shock did the right thing ... hallelujah!
Don’t bring those murdering bastards to U.S. soil!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah, I'm up late and tired and just outed my nerdy side!
LOL ...
May the force ...
Interesting to see this develop.
It was almost a done deal. I have to admit that I admired the locals who, when confronted with the idea of terrorists escaping, said...”Well, I reckon I got a gun.”
Would be a great place to move Rahmbo and Jarret.
Then Rahm can use it as his legal residence.
Shivers ..
The thought of voluntarily bringing those
beasts here to our soil just destroys my
belief in any of them in DC (or IL, for
that matter). What are they thinking?
Utter insanity, that would invite more
catastrophic events here.
(It's gotta be some kind of record for him. A 'Mr Moderate' doesn't vote like this /s)
I’m still chewing on the fact that the mopes who run the state built a prison worth a quarter of a billion dollars that was unnecessary. Who was behind that obscene decision?
My money is on our 'wonderful' ex-gov and convicted FELON, George Ryan.
If you recall he went on a a $10 Billion dollar building binge. Which started our slide into bankruptcy.
I know ....! Look how close this country came
to having the rats gleefully and totally bring
us more danger by bringing the evil monsters here
.. and purposely!!
They’re a perversion on the human race.
Ditto to that by 106.
And what gets me about Barry, Holder et-al wanting to bring AQ to the Thomson Correctional Center is that the TCC is IDEALLY located for a Special-Ops like attack from the water.(1)
Not all of AQ are ijits like the shoe and undie bombers. Granted they aren't Navy Seals or Army Green Berets but dedicated terrorists who don't care if they live or die could pull off an attack from the Mississippi River and free the prisoners.
(1) when this was idea was first proposed I Googled the TCC and looked at it in Satellite view and thought, 'WTF! ... are these people insane??'
Shock is right, eh? ;’) Thanks STARWISE.
This is why I told MANY of those on FR that a vote for Mark Kirk was the best available choice.
Alexi Gianoulias would have voted FOR this bill, no question about it.
Kirk will be on the wrong side of nearly every piece of social legislation but it’s better to be 60% right than 0% right. And we’ll work to either reform Kirk or line up stronger Conservatives to run against him in 6 years.
Alexi would have been Dickie Dirtbags lapdog.
“hallelujah!” is right!
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