Dueling letters fired off by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and
U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Virginia) indicate that Illinois will not
complete a sale of the unused Thomson Correctional Center in Carroll
County anytime soon – thanks largely to Wolf’s ill will toward Attorney
General Eric Holder and President Barack Obama.
In a sweeping four-page missive
(PDF) to Durbin Friday that begins with quoting Simon & Garfunkel’s
“The Boxer” (“Man hears what he wants to hear…and disregards the
rest”), Wolf explained that his problem is not with the senator. “I don’t
want this situation to develop into a ‘Durbin v. Wolf’ battle,” he added.
Instead, Wolf's gripe is with Obama's alleged abuse of power.
Also,
despite assurances to the contrary, Wolf writes that Guantanamo
detainees may end up in Thomson or another federal facility. “I do not trust this
administration not to acquire Thomson to make room in other high
security prisons to transfer detainees to the U.S," Wolf wrote.
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AFSCME Local Council 31, which represents state corrections workers,
forcefully argued in Springfield today that Gov. Pat Quinn’s planned
prison closings put an overcrowded system over the edge – and could lead
to more prison violence.