Congressmen Don Manzullo (IL-16), Bobby Schilling (IL-17), and Dave Loebsack (IA-02) today released the following statement on the Obama administration moving to purchase the Thomson Correctional Center from the state of Illinois:
"The bottom line is that this is a welcome development for our region, particularly those who have been struggling to find good jobs. Thomson Correctional Center has been sitting empty for 10 years, costing the residents of Illinois millions of dollars in upkeep and keeping many Illinoisans and Iowans out of work each year.
"We have been working together towards the same goal of reaching across the divide, finding a solution, and bringing these jobs to our area without moving detainees from Guantanamo to U.S. soil. If the Administration was willing to move on Thomson without closing Guantanamo all along, we question why they waited this long before taking action. But as the old saying goes, 'There's no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit.'"
"The bottom line is that this is a welcome development for our region, particularly those who have been struggling to find good jobs. Thomson Correctional Center has been sitting empty for 10 years, costing the residents of Illinois millions of dollars in upkeep and keeping many Illinoisans and Iowans out of work each year.
"We have been working together towards the same goal of reaching across the divide, finding a solution, and bringing these jobs to our area without moving detainees from Guantanamo to U.S. soil. If the Administration was willing to move on Thomson without closing Guantanamo all along, we question why they waited this long before taking action. But as the old saying goes, 'There's no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit.'"
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