Thomson To Be Ready Next Year

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Feb 2, 2010 10:30PM

Thomson Correctional Center could be all spruced up and ready to host federal prisoners, including terror suspects from Guantanamo Bay, by the middle of next year. But that all depends on whether or not Congress passes President Obama's budget as he submitted it. As reported yesterday, the budget sets aside $237 million for Thomson: $170 million for the purchase and renovations while the remaining $67 million goes towards other items such as staffing and equipping the prison. According to the Tribune:

If Congress were to approve the money by Oct. 1, the start of the fiscal year, the prison would probably take its first inmate "in the end of the first half" of 2011, an assistant attorney general, Lee Lofthus, told reporters Monday.

Justice Department spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz said today that it has not been announced which category of federal inmate would be accepted at the prison first.

As expected, Republicans in Congress are already voicing opposition to the bill just as local Republicans have since the deal was proposed last fall.