For more than seven years, I was blessed to be the chamber of commerce executive in Clinton Iowa area. We worked close with our friends in Illinois, including those in the Fulton, Thomson, Morrison and Savanna.
Earlier this week, the President announced the vacant state prison at Thomson will house a couple of hundred people currently located at Gitmo.
There are good people that I respect in the Clinton/Fulton region who think this is a great idea. There are good people that I respect in the Clinton/Fulton region who think this is a terrible idea.
I have some mixed emotions about this. My opinion on the wisdom of this move is not relevant since I don't work in the Clinton area any more. Furthermore, I wasn't asked for my opinion and I attempt to focus only on the things that I can influence and control.
I remember walking with Jack Hartwig, the first warden for the prison, through several of the buildings in the prison complex. Walking through a vacant building designed to 1,600 house maximum security prisoners is a very sobering experience. Jack (I won't share the nickname he'd been given by fellow prison employees) had the perfect mental approach to being a prison warden. I remember thinking "sure glad I didn't have to approach Jack about dating his daughter. He'd scare the wits of any potential son-in-law."
I was inside the buildings about a dozen times and outside the buildings, but inside the fence, several other times, for various reasons including media events pleading for officials in Springfield to open the facility. There were false starts and hope that died on the vine several times.
I remember sitting in a cell with the door shut and seeing the stark surroundings; the toilet in wide open view (flushing the toilet is controlled by a guard who can make the toilet flush 24/7 or never at all). There was a television set (a guard can control the tv and can turn it off or turn it on 24/7. The guard can ensure someone can only watch soap operas or the game show network all day long.
The facility was designed with Jack's input and is designed so that a prisoner can serve their entire term and never see more than 49 other prisoners. It was designed to house 1,600 prisoners, guarded by 761 full time employees. Very high tech facility.
The administration's plan is to move a couple of hundred people there and guard them with thousands of people, including military and federal civilian employees. This means a lot more people working there with higher pay and a much better guard/detainee ratio.
I remember a graphic description of the role of the guards with rifles as Jack stood inside my "personal space" and described a scenario where I was a violent prisoner. He described a situation when a guard in the watch tower might pull a trigger to stop a prisoner's aggression toward him – even if it meant hitting him with a stray bullet. "I need the guy with the gun to have no hesitation about pulling the trigger." he told me.
Jack's dry sense of humor was dis-arming at times. I once asked about the walls around the basketball courts. "Do prisoners lose their temper and throw a ball over the wall?" "Yes. Game over." was his direct response. "Then, in about 20 minutes we have a new problem. The prisoners want to beat the xxxx out of the guy who tossed the ball over the wall. We usually only this problem once per pod (of 49 prisoners)." It would be very hard to work in that job and not be jaded.
I have NO concerns about any escaping from the facility. Between the internal building security, the sand pit around the buildings that prevents a tunnel, the inability to communicate with others inside or outside the prison and the massive very high voltage electric fence around the building, Jack pointed out that the only way someone could get out "is to go out through the front gate." (presumably in a body bag because they are dead. Underground heartbeat detection units also help with security.
As we walked through the minimum security area, I asked about the people that would live here. He pointed out "Dennis, back in 1970, someone killed a person and was sent to prison for 40 years. At some point, they get to go home. We've got to get them ready for the outside world." I didn't share a concern about people in the minimum security unit misbehaving because Jack said "they just want to get out and never come back" by the time they get to that building and two years from being released.
I do have concerns about a coordinated attack on the prison facility. Someone with a medium sized airplane could do considerable damage in a coordinated attack. The friends of those detained would have no remorse about flying a plane into the side of the building. In doing so, they could hurt personal friends of ours who work there. History shows us those flying a plane in that scenario don't care if they lose their own life. I know the nuclear power plant is pretty safe from attack but that doesn't mean these people won't try something crazy.
I'm sure that good people like the Atherton's (who converted their little gas station to a classy convenience store) will be happy to see the prison finally used. I've forgotten the name of the man who built a hotel along the highway that runs in front of the facility. I just hope they haven't suffered total financial ruin waiting for the facility to open.
I applaud Thomson mayor Mary Jo Enloe (I don't even know if she is Mayor anymore) for never giving up toward on the vision of getting the building operational. During our trips to Washington DC (and in many other trips that I didn't attend), many very good people lobbied in Springfield and Washington DC for the facility to open.
I remember in 1999, as the facility was still under construction, we formed a broad-based group from across the two state area to understand how a prison will impact the community. If I had any advice, I would urge another group to form and think about the changes that are coming. There will be changes in roads, schools, human service agencies, transportation, housing, churches, law enforcement, local government, etc. Setting a strategy to position the region to gain the positives and to minimize the negatives will be wise. Just getting together to communicate and think together will be time well spent.
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