How much will the Feds pay for Thomson Prison?
The Northwest Herald thinks that Illinois ought to be "fully reimbursed for its construction and borrowing costs..."
I'm sure that will happen. In a pig's eye.
Why should the Feds bail out what has turned out to be a boondoggle for the State Legislature and the Illinois Department of Corrections. IDOC built a $140,000,000 state-of-the-art prison but apparently forgot to arrange for funds to operate it. Duhhh...
Thomson has a Fair Market Value. That's what a willing buyer will pay a willing seller. Well, there is only one possible buyer. A fourth-grader could tell you what that will mean to the selling price. When you've got a pig to sell and no one is eating pork, who thinks you'll be able to muscle a prospective buyer into paying more than it's worth?
And will the Federal hire Sheriff Joe Arpaio to run Thomson? If they do, what will happen to the McHenry County Hotel on North Seminary Avenue? Sheriff Joe could certainly house detainees for a lot less than $90.00/day!
You never know who is interested…
3 months ago
4 comments:
Max Security Prisons over in China are pretty cheap to build: there's no walls or fences. They only dig a big hole for the body to fall into after being shot in the head. Then the criminal's family gets billed for the cost of the bullet. Doh.
Why don't you think we just got really lucky? We built excess capacity and someone needs it, that's great. And we will make money off of this mistake ... what's to complain about?
I don't mind the deal, only I never got to wonder whether we should have rented the cells to the Feds, not sold them the prison.
I was reacting to the NWH online letter-writer who thought Illinois' ultra-sharp politicians ought to stick it to the Feds on the price. Like that was going to happen...
Your rent idea is WAY the best idea.
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