The Obama administration has decided that a western Illinois prison, Thomson Correctional Center, is perfect for housing Guantanamo Bay terrorist detainees. This is apparently strongly supported by both Governor Pat Quinn and IL Senator Dick Durbin. Does it surprise me that Quinn, Durbin, and Obama would support this? Of course not. And of course, I don’t support this effort.
First let me briefly address the most public reason for not supporting this effort. Many opponents are citing safety concerns for opposing the move of the detainees to rural Illinois. The concern of some Republicans is, according to a Chicago Tribune article, that Illinois would become a ‘magnet for terrorists’.” Republican U.S. Representative Don Manzullo, who represents the Thomson, IL district, said that “Gitmo is not being closed, it’s being moved to northwest Illinois.” U.S. Representative Mark Kirk od Chicago said that “with the busiest airport in the world and the tallest building in North America, I do not think we should make Chicagoland the center of jihadi attention in the world.” He also expressed concern over a nuclear power facility in the Quad Cities, a four city region spanning across the Mississippi River in Iowa and Illinois and located very near Thomson.
Manzullo’s comments suggest that there is a concern about the security of the facility and district of which he represents. I would reply by saying that the early plans indicate that the prison’s security will be increased and will likely become the most secure federal prison in the US. I believe that can and should be done if the plan is to move forward. Therefore I think the security of Thomson will be fine. Kirk’s concerns are, I believe, with more merit. My gut says that jihadists will prefer to spend the remaining moments of their lives to kill as many christians and jews as they can, not waste it attempting to free prisoners. Are Chicago and the Quad Cities viable targets? Of course. But the truth is that Chicago should not be more of a target due to this prison than it was previously. And, every nuclear facility is a potential target regardless of where it is located.
Residents of Thomson, IL appear to be in favor of the federal prison for employment reasons. Springfield’s State Journal Register reports that the “Thomson Correctional Center is here, so it might as well be filled.” Jim Falls, a resident of a nearby town, stated what many felt, “if they do bring them here, that would put more people to work here.” And with September unemployment in Illinois reaching 10.5%, 8.4% in the Quad Cities, and 15.2% in Rockford located north-west of Thomson, it is not suprising to hear such comments. The White House claims that the prison could “create” between 2,300 and 3,200 ongoing jobs (many of which will actually be military positions). This may seem great for the region, but why did Illinois build a prison in 2001 that sits 90% empty in 2009? Reports suggest it is due to budget issues. Well doesn’t the construction and ongoing maintenance of this empty prison add up? Isn’t that taxing the citizens of Illinois unnecessarily? No wonder Governor Quinn wants to dump it. This just seems typical of Illinois, to build a prison at great expense for non-existing prisoners. Illinois’ government appears to subscribe to the tax-spend-waste form of government. I don’t remember being taught that form of government in high school civics. Maybe Quin should look at shuttering the prison completely instead of selling it to the feds.
The reason I have a problem with moving these prisoners to Illinois is the same reason I don’t support prosecuting terrorists in civil criminal courts in New York. These terrorists are enemies of the state who either planned or were invovled in attacks on the United States of America. These are not US citizens or US nationals that committed a typical crime. These are terrorists that killed thousands of innocents. Those not directly involved in 9/11 attacks, attacked our soldiers on the battle fields as extremists looking to bring down our country. They should be brought in front of military tribunals just as enemy combatants have always been done since President George Washington established them many years ago. If the tribunal finds a detainee to be innocent, then give him/her a plane ticket home with our apologies and maybe a little cash for their troubles. If they are found guilty then punish them accordingly. Let the tribunals determine guilt and punishment. Bringing detainees to a federal prison in Illinois will only give more credence to the idea that these terrorists should be accorded rights under our Constitution. Notice I said OUR Constitution.
These terrorists should be keep in a dark hole in a military prison until they can be brought to trial. This does not mean that I believe they should be detained indefinitely, as I do not. I think it is not fair to any human to keep them locked away for years upon years with no opportunity to face a tribunal and provide a defense. Let’s start prosecuting these terrorists in the tribunals with fair but swift proceedings.
Wisdom and Folly 