CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A proposed federal prison in northwest Illinois would lock up a double dose of much-needed cash to chip away at the state's gaping budget hole, a University of Illinois economist says.
J. Fred Giertz says money from selling the largely unused state lockup and the thousands of jobs that would follow would be good tonic for Illinois' struggling economy, but not a cure.
"Obviously, the money from the sale and jobs would not solve the state's fiscal problems, but would be a small step in the right direction and an important stimulant for the area," said Giertz, an Institute of Government and Public Affairs economist who compiles a monthly barometer on the Illinois economy.
A deal is being considered that would convert the Thomson prison into a U.S.-run facility that would house Guantanamo Bay detainees and other federal inmates. The move would bring more than 3,000 jobs to the financially strapped area along the Iowa border, according to a new report by the president's Council of Economic Advisers.
Converting Thomson into a federal prison would create 840 to 910 temporary jobs, while running the facility would net between 3,180 and 3,880 ongoing jobs over the first four years, according to the White House report.
"The job estimates are probably overly optimistic, which is often the case in these types of projects, but would be substantial nonetheless," said Giertz, the interim head of the U. of I. economics department.
Along with creating jobs, a deal would get Illinois off the hook for its ill-timed, roughly $150 million investment in the 1,600-cell prison, he said. The state built the state-of-the-art facility in 2001, but budget problems prevented it from fully opening, and it now houses about 200 minimum-security inmates.
But Giertz says the economic benefits of the Obama administration proposal face political and psychological challenges. Republican lawmakers largely oppose the plan, raising questions about the safety of housing terrorism suspects that have spawned fears among some in the largely rural region.
"This is an example of 'not in my back yard,' " he said. "Citizens may agree with the general policy of closing Guantanamo and moving inmates to U.S. soil, but they may not want to bear the costs of such policies on their home turf."