* President Obama reportedly bypassed a congressman’s objection and agreed to buy the long-vacant Thomson prison from Illinois, according to US Sen. Dick Durbin…
“Finally, the Department of Justice this afternoon is going to present the $165 million check in the Northern District court of Illinois in Rockford to pay for the transfer,” said Durbin, who acknowledged it was a “rare” move to bypass a high-ranking House Appropriations Committee member. “At this point, the president had to intervene and do this directly. I hope people understand he’s doing it for his state.”
Veteran Virginia Republican Rep. Frank Wolf had long blocked the federal Bureau of Prisons purchase of the prison from the state of Illinois, saying he did not trust the Obama administration’s vow not to transfer suspected terrorists from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into the facility despite a federal law that prohibits such moves. Wolf also said he did not trust Attorney General Eric Holder, whom the GOP-led House found in contempt for the failed Fast and Furious gun-walking program. […]
Durbin, the state’s senior senator and No. 2 Democrat in Washington, said funds for the purchase came from unspent money in the Department of Justice budget for the federal fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.
The Thomson prison issue also has been at the forefront of the highly competitive 17th Congressional District contest between freshman Republican Rep. Bobby Schilling and Democratic challenger Cheri Bustos. At one point, Schilling urged the state to renegotiate the sale price to $75 million in an effort to try to get the support of his fellow Republican, Wolf. But citing the state’s fiscal problems and its previous negotiations with Justice Department officials, Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn’s office rejected Schilling’s effort to lower the price.
Durbin despises Schilling (Bustos is Durbin’s candidate all the way) and wanted this thing done before the election. Schilling can’t take any real credit now because he wanted the price lowered so much. That was never a good move on Schilling’s part because the state really needs that cash.
Durbin wins this round. Big.
*** UPDATE *** The DC obstructor responds…
Wolf says he’s deeply troubled by the sale. He says it’s an “unprecedented directive” to “circumvent Congress.”
Pshaw.
It was a legal maneuver to circumvent a single, obstinate, delusional congresscritter.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Sour grapes? Looks like it…
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.’”
*** UPDATE 3 *** Gov. Quinn and Sen. Durbin talk to reporters…
