What a waste. They could have turned it into a high school.
Uncle Chip, I was incarcerated in several federal prisons. The feds don’t turn prisons into schools. They actually turn schools into prisons. I spent time in Yankton (SD) Federal Prison Camp. It is on the Nat’l Registry of Historical Places. It was formerly Yankton College. I also was imprisoned in Rochester (MN) Federal Medical Center, formerly a state hospital.
The article mentions that 1,000 permanent positions would be created at this new federal prison. I highly doubt that. Based on my experience in the federal prison system, I would estimate 200 permanent employees - tops.
On a semi-related note, it was all of the Illinois and New York politicians, political grifters, and organized crime figures that showed me the ropes on my first day of federal prison in Sandstone, MN. It wasn’t until I was in prison that I realized, “Wow! There are a lot of Illinois politicians in prison!”