[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 43 (Friday, March 14, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H2438]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             THOMSON PRISON

  (Mrs. BUSTOS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mrs. BUSTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the Thomson 
Correctional Center, a facility that has sat vacant in the town of 
Thomson, a small village in northern Illinois, since it was built by 
the State of Illinois in 2001.
  For more than a decade, the people of my region have been thirsting 
for the jobs and the economic opportunity that the opening of this 
facility would bring.
  Yesterday, we received the very good news that we had been waiting 
for, for a long time. This was delivered to us from the Bureau of 
Prisons, which announced that they will designate the funding to 
activate the Thomson Correctional Center.
  This investment means construction can soon begin. It means that 
workers can soon begin competing for good-paying jobs, and it means 
that northern Illinois will no longer be home to an empty prison.
  When fully open, the Thomson Correctional Center will add 1,100 jobs 
to our region and will add $200 million in annual economic impact. The 
prison's activation will not only be good for our economy, but it will 
also generate a sense of pride among the people I serve in the 
surrounding communities. We finally will see the dormant facility put 
to good use.

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