AUSP THOMSON | Prison in Thomson, Illinois

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1100 ONE MILE ROAD
THOMSON, IL 61285
Email: TOM/ExecAssistant@bop.gov
Phone: 815-259-1000
Fax: 815-259-0186
Inmate Gender: Male Offenders
Population:
364 Total Inmates
274 Inmates at the AUSP
90 Inmates at the Camp
Judicial District: Northern District of Illinois
County: CARROLL
BOP Region: North Central Region

The building of the prison was controversial; early plans suggested using the site of the former Savanna Army Depot, several miles north of Thomson. One of the main reasons the prison was controversial was concern[who?] that the prison would have a negative impact on the environment, especially being so close to the Mississippi River.

Thomson Correctional Center was built between May 1999 and November 2001. Its completion cost $140 million, but the state omitted opening costs from the 2002 budget, and Governor George H. Ryan called for a delay to the opening to save $50 million per year in operating costs.[9] By 2009, the total cost to the state of Illinois had exceeded $170 million.[10] The minimum security unit has an annual budget of $7 million. State budget constraints as well as labor union opposition to closing other state prisons prevented the maximum-security prison from opening.

In 2008, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich proposed to close the state prison in Pontiac and to open the Thomson maximum-security unit instead. However, Blagojevich was subsequently arrested on December 9, 2008, and was removed from office. His replacement, Governor Pat Quinn, cancelled plans to close the Pontiac prison in March 2009, leaving Thomson unused.