Illinois's Thomson Prison

I saw Representative Jim Sacia (R) 89th District on Comcast's Newsmaker show (I've become addicted although I can never figure out their schedule. I just bump into it.) and he mentioned Illinois has a new Prison in his district complete with a lonely Warden onboard. It only lacks the operating funds to staff it before receiving inmates.

Sacia said Illinois prisons currently overcrowded by 170% i.e. room for one inmate holds 1.7 inmates --think about it.

Google "Thompson Prison Illinois" and you don't find much except this gleaned from the Clinton Hearld,

Illinois Department of Corrections April 28, 2003
There's no money in the Illinois budget to staff and operate the Thompson prison next year but the state is exploring options for using that facility and other prisons not currently open. One option would be to turn those facilities into federal prisons. Doing so would require the Illinois Department of Corrections to first turn over the prisons to private companies to run, and the private companies would then lease the space to the federal prison system. (Clinton Herald)

The hubbub about Gitmo got me thinking about prisons. Everybody ought to spend a little time in one: as volunteer or inmate.

I know a guy who recently traded 30 days community service for three days in Cook County Jail. He didn't like taking orders from the kid in charge of his community service detail, and thought he'd do the time instead. He said he made a big mistake. I think he would've slept better if all he had to worry about those three nights was someone flushing his Bible down the toilet.