Published: November 20, 2009 09:25 am      

Good outweighs bad for area in prison debate

A town of about 600 people seems like an odd choice to put a zoo, but during the past week, the amount of media and government officials made Thomson, Ill., appear more like a mass of people ravaging for the next juicy story than a quiet, small western Illinois town.

The national media and politicians will twist the story into whatever they want. But it appears like the majority of the community doesn’t mind the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees, or at least the people who are against it have not made their opinions clear yet.

Safety versus job creation is the main issue, and it looks like one political party will go to their playbook and utilize the fear mongering technique. I understand that elected officials will play politics with the prison, but the safety issue does not seem valid.

Most of the reports I’ve seen have indicated that some community members think murderers may be worse than terrorists. That may be a little loony. Terrorists also have killed people and probably have a lot more motivation to do damage to not only prison guards, but any American they come across.

If locked up, I don’t know what people expect to happen with terrorists in our neck of the woods. They could escape, but that’s unlikely. Other than that, the prisoners’ terrorist buddies would have to attack the prison or go after the nuclear plant, which is guarded like Fort Knox.

To question the transfer of alleged terrorists to United States soil is a legitimate argument. However, if the transfer happens, then as a local legislator, why not choose to have a near-empty prison house the detainees?

For Clinton and the western Illinois area, the actual usage of the Thomson prison could only benefit the community. In a time of dire economic conditions for much of the United States, added jobs and consumer spending can only help the area.

Do I think utilizing the prison will create 3,000 jobs? No. I may not be an economist, but I’ve been around long enough not to trust politicians. I anticipate the actual number to be smaller, but nonetheless, still good enough to go ahead and use the prison.

People will likely move to Clinton, spend money in our town and contribute to maintaining our area. A plan that includes an economic improvement like that should be encouraged by our elected officials if Congress allows Guantanamo Bay detainees to live on our land.

If they don’t, we should see them for who they are — as politicians pandering to a national motto, instead of looking out for their constituents.



Scott Levine is the Associate Editor for the Clinton Herald. He can be reached at scottlevine@clintonherald.com.