No Gitmo detainees and a lowball offer
Friday, Mar 18, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller
* $180 million would be less than the appraised value for the Thomson prison, so I’m not sure the facility can be sold, but I guess beggers can’t be choosers…
The Obama White House is being asked by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn to provide a letter with a guarantee that detainees at the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, would not be sent to a nearly vacant state-owned prison in Thomson, Ill. the federal government wants to buy.
The letter is intended to address objections raised by Republicans, including Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), that detainees would end up in the northwest Illinois maximum security facility–even though the Obama White House has backed down from the plan. Republicans are worried there is no promise the matter of transfers would not come up in the future. […]
Quinn said that Kirk brought up at the delegation meeting the need for a guarantee, in writing -barring detainees from Thomson. Quinn said the federal government and the State of Illinois were “very close on price” for the facility, with the tab at about $180 million. Of that, the state would use $60 million to pay off debt to build Thomson and put the rest of the money for capital needs.
That’s $40 million more that the state paid to build it. It was appraised far higher…
Last year, a spokesman for Quinn, Grant Klinzman, said the average of three appraisals of the Thomson prison put its value at just under $220 million.
Mica Matsoff, a Quinn spokeswoman, was asked Thursday after the governor spoke if the state could sell the prison below its appraised value. She did not answer the question directly, saying only: “We are continuing to work with the federal government to determine and evaluate our options on moving forward. Our goal remains selling Thomson Correctional Center to the federal government at a fair price to the state as soon as possible.”
* Meanwhile, Gov. Quinn wants nuclear power plant owners to pay higher fees for inspections…
Quinn said: “We are going to seek from the General Assembly higher fees,” from Exelon “to make sure that our Emergency Management Agency has everything it needs to do its safety review job.”
Illinois already conducts its own independent safety inspections — in addition to federal government inspections — but Quinn said “from the moment” he heard about the Japanese nuclear crisis, he wanted to review Illinois readiness. The governor said the Illinois General Assembly is considering a 2 percent increase for inspections but he may want more. The base flat fee Exelon has been paying — about $18 million — has not been increased in more than eight years, Quinn said.
Discuss.
* Other stuff…
* ADDED: First official meeting for Emanuel and Quinn: Both refused to take questions from reporters after the meeting
* Gov. Quinn goes to D.C. with words of warning: The governor was particularly worried about potential cuts to Illinois’ scientific research facilities, such as Fermilab and Argonne National Laboratory. Such cuts could cause the state to lose its leading scientists, as well as the potential to advance on technology that would make Illinois the electric vehicle capital of the nation.
* Dillard: Bring back the death penalty
* House committee OKs long-shot effort to reinstate death penalty
* McNamara wanted to talk to Quinn about death penalty: “He never gave me one little ounce of respect that I deserve,” McNamara said.
* New liquor-control commission director named
- piling on - Friday, Mar 18, 11 @ 3:20 pm:
Shutter Menard yesterday and move all the inmates to Thomson. You’ll finally utilize a modern, efficient prison and you’ll save millions in workers comp costs.
No, the Menard jobs won’t move to Thomson. They’ll be new and under the new pension tier.
But don’t worry, the Menard folks will be fine, they’ve got their lucrative workers comp awards to live on.
- MikeMacD - Friday, Mar 18, 11 @ 3:26 pm:
If Illinois isn’t doing anything with with the Thompson facility anyway, why not go for it. Federal jobs and supply contracts would be welcome. Either it will waste away or have to be maintained in the hopes of a better bid.
As for the nuclear inspections, a modest fee increase seems reasonable after eight years.
- ANON - Friday, Mar 18, 11 @ 3:26 pm:
Is there a reason to raise fees,…other than just wanting to use a tragedy overseas to arbitrarily raise inspection fees on companies here? Seems like just an excuse to “raise revenue”
- Dirt Digger - Friday, Mar 18, 11 @ 3:35 pm:
If $180M is all Thomson can get on the market then presumably the appraisal is wrong.
- Judgment Day - Friday, Mar 18, 11 @ 3:40 pm:
Re: Nuclear Plant Inspection Fees.
First off, love the IEMA folks, but they’ve already got sufficient toys. If you have seen their hardware ‘bling” displayed at the annual Conference in past years, you know what I mean.
If Quinn really wants to raise the fees for nuke inspections, a minimum of 80% of it needs to go to the local EMA (Emergency Management), because those are the folks who are on the front lines. The locals need the money and equipment, because if things do go sideways, they are the first responders, not IEMA.
If Pat Quinn really wants to raise the fees, he needs to get serious (for once!) about where the bucks really need to go. And that is the local government EMA operations.
- walter sobchak - Friday, Mar 18, 11 @ 3:42 pm:
Has Governor Quinn ever met a fee or tax he doesn’t want to increase?
- Judgment Day - Friday, Mar 18, 11 @ 3:47 pm:
There’s also another little issue on what say (if any) the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has over fees that can be charged to nuclear plant operators like Excelon Nuclear.
Don’t know that answer yet. Bet Pat Quinn doesn’t either….
- Amy - Friday, Mar 18, 11 @ 4:00 pm:
how does one appraise a prison? the appraisal value of a house makes sense to me, since there’s big market for it, but I don’t understand on what basis a prison would be appraised. If Illinois doesn’t need it, and the one offer is from the federal govt., how do we know it is a fair price? I suppose try some basic negotiations; ask for 30% above their bid, and hope they go higher?
- amalia - Friday, Mar 18, 11 @ 4:01 pm:
when Quinn says he met with some victims’ families, he probably means those who were against the death penalty. still makes that a true statement. Not honorable, but true. if that is not the case, enlighten us Governor.
Peace to the McNamara family.
- ANON - Friday, Mar 18, 11 @ 4:01 pm:
==If $180M is all Thomson can get on the market then presumably the appraisal is wrong. ==
See, you’re thinking too much like a realist, and not a government official. Government checkbooks don’t concern themselves with such things as “market rates”
- Rich Miller - Friday, Mar 18, 11 @ 4:07 pm:
amalia, I’m certain I’ve read accounts of him meeting with families who opposed repeal.
- shore - Friday, Mar 18, 11 @ 4:45 pm:
Thompson is a gift that just keeps on giving for kirk. A bone to throw to conservatives and hawks.
- amalia - Friday, Mar 18, 11 @ 4:53 pm:
thanks, rich.
- wordslinger - Friday, Mar 18, 11 @ 5:04 pm:
What’s the market for empty prisons these days? Should probably take what you can get if you can’t afford to open it.
And please, keep those scary Al Quada, Gitmo desperadoes away from us. They’re 10-feet tall and have death lasers on their foreheads. No prison could ever hold them or hold back all their pals.
Just look how they’re toppling regimes all over the Arab world now. That is them, right?
- GuyverV - Monday, Mar 21, 11 @ 1:41 pm:
as bad as illinois needs money right now, they better take the money & not care who the feds jam in that jail.