THOMSON Correctional Center

[spicicles]

Does anyone have any information regarding Thompson CC? The reason iam asking is because my other half is considering trying to get a transfer there.  Does anyone know how Thompson compares to the other Max prisons in Illinois.  Are the facilties better or worse there?

[Scout]

Thomson isn't open yet.  Rumor has it that they are going to start transferring some medium level inmates there to prepare for opening.  My other half wants to go there as well.  All I know is that the units are all self contained, meaning an inmate will not have to travel to other buildings for things such as yard, etc. and that they are all single cells, beyond that, nothing has been reported.

[Dazzler]

Spice....no one knows much about Thomson...no 'p'....it was built about five or six years ago and has been sitting empty all this time.  The prison was never opened.  It's a maximum security prison, we have photos in our Prison Photo gallery.  The prison is scheduled to be opened with a few inmates by September of this year I believe.  There will be 250 inmates sent there from other institutions  to prepare the prison for opening.  It's supposed to be state-of-the-art in prisons, all electronically controlled.  It is definately a fortress, however it looks very modern.  I suppose a plus would be the fact that it is new.  I don't know how the population will be chosen for Thomson.  A lot of questions still remain.  Many have been interested in transferring there and it may be done by request or luck of the draw....if you go to our 'search' button at the top of the page and enter Thomson you should find all posts about Thomson and it's opening.

[spicicles]

Thanks Scout, i didnt even relise it wasnt open yet.  We were looking at a map of Illinois prisons and Thompson was on there, we hadnt heard anything about it so thats why i posted the question......silly me! :~)

[Dazzler]

Spice, I've been looking for a map with all Illinois prisons pinpointed on it...do have something like this?  I've been looking in hopes of posting the map on our site so each location can be found easily.  Sometimes loved ones have no idea what part of the state a particular prison is located.

[spicicles]

Thank to you too Daz!  Hopefully some info will be pubished asap with more details about the opening and the facilities at Thompson.....gotta keep our eyes peeled!

[spicicles]

Yes Daz, i do have a very good and clearly pinpointed map.

I will pm you a link to it, im sure it will be ideal.

[Valari Fauntleroy]

I too have unanswerable questions about Thompson.  My husband is currently in Stateville and I certainly do not want him transfered there.  It is my understanding that it's another super-max, like Tamms.  My husband is not a problem inmate.  He is a lifer so his options are limited as to where he can be sent, as I understand it.  The information he is getting is sketchy at best, such as, everyone will be transfered out of Stateville, and it will be used for receiving, psych, and other things. Do you have any information on the status of Stateville inmates and how they fit into the opening of Thompson CC?:-[

[Jims]

I thought Mah posted a map of the prisons awhile ago.

Rumors are going around about Stateville as well as Thomson. I don't think Thomson will be a Tamms exactly. But the security is supposed to be state-of-the-art. They'll have lots of newbie officers working there, and those guys always have Rambo syndrome.

I've heard that Stateville is emptying out (besides R&C and one or two other houses), and I've heard Pontiac is closing down and sending everyone to Thomson. I'll bet they send guys there from all the max joints - perhaps the more aggressive ones and that way, they could keep a closer watch on them with their more sophisticated security.

[Dazzler]

Where's all this bed space going to come from?  Thomson is single celled by law...no doubling up and it only holds 1,600 tops.  They can't empty out Pontiac, half of Stateville and some of Menard unless they plan to add a Tent City....LOL.

[Jims]

I don't think they'll empty out any one facilty except perhaps Pontiac. I'm just saying they'll probably take some from each, and then re-distribute others into THOSE empty cells.

[Scout]

It makes perfect sense to move the high agression inmates to Thomson, but I wonder how many there are??  Like Dazzler said, there's only room for 1600.  G has told me that he knows of four cellhouses closing down (or partially closing down) at Stateville.

[Dazzler]

Scout, why are they closing cellhouses?  This is just more DOC insanity.  I thought the purpose of opening Thomson was to relieve the overcrowding in the other three maxiumum security prisons.  Instead they plan to close portions of those max joints and send the inmates to Thomson.  This makes no sense to solve the problem.  Where's the relief of overcrowding going to come from?  All that will be left are closed cellhouses, useful for nothing.  Time to build somemore prisons...

[jewels]

Which cell houses has G heard are closing Scout? Ofcourse we get theser rumours all the time. Some things happen and some don't. The rumours seem to change.

[Scout]

He referred to them as the four "corner" cellhouses, B, E, C and I dont' recall the last one....he seems to think all that will remain open is R&C, F and X.

[Valari Fauntleroy]

Well we do know they can't empty out all of the maxes, Thompson can only hold so many. I guest rumors will abound until the deed is done.  If they are only taking the most aggressive, that answers my question.  I will not be able to rest until all the transfering is over and done.  I know there are not quarentees one way or the other, we are at the mercy of the IDOC.  :~)

[SMD]

   Five years after the building's completion, Thomson Correctional Center is finally about to welcome in its first inmates.
     "We're going through the units," the prison's warden, Frank Shaw, said Tuesday. "There's a lot that we're doing just to get everything back in shape, from simply dusting the facility and mopping the floors, to going through and checking the locking mechanisms, making sure everything's working."
     Budget issues prevented the facility from opening in 2001, but now the Illinois Department of Corrections has scheduled two hundred minimum-security inmates from around the state to be transferred to Thomson.
     They will assist prison staff to run the main, maximum-security facility.
     The minimum-security wing should be ready for them by September 1, though officials haven't set a date yet to open the maximum-security portion.
     "We're going to have 75 staff members for the [minimum-security-unit]," Shaw said, "and up to 700 total for the main complex when that gets up-and-running."
     That employment potential is what people in Thomson, and elsewhere around the region, have waited for since State officials announced the project years ago.
     Now, with the prison's opening just days away, neighbors there say they can sum up their feelings with one word.
     "Relieved," said Aleda Doran, who works just up the road at a local diner. "We've sat and watched it sit out there for all these years..."
     Even though the facility has 1,600 cells spread through 15 buildings, Thomson correctional will start small, using only one building and 200 beds.
     The 75 staff members are just 1/10th of what the facility should employ once filled to maximum capacity.
     However, after waiting for years for another employer to come to town, Doran says she, along with many of her neighbors, will take a slow start over none at all.
     "It's a beginning," she said, "because once they have transferred the guards and everything, I think it's going to be a good thing because it's going to assure people that the rest of it's going to happen.
     I think this is just the beginning."
     The importance of the facility's opening on the community hasn't been lost on Shaw or other DOC officials.
     "They're very excited that we're finally getting going and getting open," Shaw said. "Hopefully as we go along we'll be able to hire more and more employees and hopefully that will assist the community."

                                 on our news channel                                     Dreamer

[SMD]

Published: Saturday, August 26, 2006
BY ANDREW WALTERS

GAZETTE REPORTER


 

 
 
 

 

 
awalters@svnmail.com

THOMSON — Years of broken campaign promises will begin to mend Monday, when the long-empty, high-tech, multimillion-dollar Thomson prison finally opens with a staff of 75, followed shortly by its first batch of minimum-security prisoners.

"This is beyond politics now. It is going to open," said Randy Starr, Thomson village president.

A specific date for the first transfer of inmates from various other Illinois Department of Corrections facilities has not been set. They will begin arriving in groups of about 30 a week until 200 are in place, Derek Schnapp, IDOC spokesman, said Friday.

"We are going to be gradually bringing them in there over the coming weeks," Schnapp said.

It's a far cry from the 700 jobs and 1,800 inmates the prison was supposed to bring, but next week's opening is a welcome start, Starr said.

"Obviously, it is good news; we have been waiting for several years now. We would like to see the prison open completely, but we will have to keep working with state officials on that," he said.

The $136 million Thomson Correctional Center is designed to house 200 minimum-security inmates and 1,600 of the state's most dangerous criminals in a state-of-the-art, 1,600-bed "super max" unit.

The state's 28th prison was finished in late 2001, under the George Ryan administration, but never opened because a budget crunch locked up the $50 million a year needed to run it.

Last spring, the state Legislature approved $7.7 million for a scaled-down opening. The said they will seek money to fully open the prison, perhaps as early as next summer.

More than 600 jobs would be created when the remaining 1,600 cells are filled, finally providing a significant boost to Carroll County's sagging economy.

[SMD]

Last Night, on our TV news they said Thompson would be receiving the first prisoners at 10:30 pm. From then on 110 until it is full.
                                                         Dreamer

[Forevermah]

Thomson Correctional Center
Opened:
Capacity: 0
Level 1: Maximum-Security Adult Male
Average Daily Population: 0
 

Thomson Correctional Center is the parent institution for the following location(s):

Thomson Minimum Security Unit
Level 7: Low Minimum-Security Adult Male
Average Daily Population: 0

Total Average Daily Population: 0
Average Age: 0
Average Annual Cost Per Inmate: $0.00

 
 
 
 
  Visiting Hours    
 
 
IDOC Visitation Rules and Information -- please review before visiting

On the first visit to any correctional facility, the visitors will be required to have a photo identification, such as a driver's license, a state identification card, or acceptable documentation of non-US citizen including a current passport, Visa, or Matricula, and documentation that includes their date of birth.

Please have two forms of identification; one should be a photo ID for additional visits.

 
 
 
  Facility Address   
 
 
Business Mail:
1100 One Mile Road
Thomson, Il 61285

Phone: (815) 259-1177
Fax: (815) 259-1186  Inmate Mail:
1100 One Mile Road
Thomson, Il 61285

 
 
  Facility Information   
 
 
Thomson Correctional Center is a Level 1 adult male maximum-security facility comprised of 1,600 cells spread throughout eight cellhouses and a separate 200-bed minimum-security unit. The center is located just north of the Village of Thomson off Route 84 in the northwest corner of Illinois. The site is comprised of 146 flat acres and consists of 15 buildings, totaling 625,000 square feet.

The inner perimeter is surrounded by a one-mile loop of two, parallel fences separated by 25 feet of open space. This space is under constant surveillance by four armed, perimeter towers, two armed perimeter road patrols, and a network of 305 surveillance cameras. The 12-foot exterior fence sets in a 3-foot deep 'rat wall' foundation and is stacked, top to bottom, with multiple rows of a coiled wire barrier called razor-ribbon. The 15-foot interior fence is a dual-sided electric stun fence that carries a 7,000-volt current.

The total cost for the project is $140 million. The operating budget is estimated to be $50 million with a $30 million payroll that will support 761 state positions and additional contractual workers needed to safely operate the facility.

New Technology and Enhancements

The surveillance network consists of 305 cameras that run on a fiber optic and dual-Ethernet system. Each camera has time-lapse and/or motion-detection capability and is digitally recorded. Surveillance also includes biometrics that control access to select staff areas and serve as the documentation source for service delivery to the inmates, door position switches attached to the exterior doors of most buildings that emit audible alarms when the doors are opened and record such access times, an energy management system that monitors utility consumption rates and alerts staff to deviations outside set parameters, laptop access that allows remote control of various utility settings, and an 11-station graphic user interface network that gives access and programmed control of all surveillance cameras from areas throughout the facility.

Conclusion

The Thomson Correctional Center is a thick-skinned prison built to house the state's most aggressive and violent inmates. Its design gives staff impeccable sight lines and the ability for steadfast control of inmate movement patterns. No date has been set for its opening.
 
 
 

[CMarie1881]

Ok so I have finally visited Thomson...my guy's brother is in the msu there.  It's actually pretty laid back, the c/o's don't even sit in the visiting room!  The visiting room is really tiny, I think maybe a total of 9 tables or so.  You have to call one week in advance to schedule a visit and I think the visiting hours are 10AM-6PM every day. Visits are 4 hours long even on weekends and holidays.  They are very child friendly there, and have a pretty decent selection of things for the kids to play with.  They are allowed 8 visits a month, only 2 can be weekend/holiday visits.  The vending machine cards are $5.00, and the prices in the vending machines are kind of expensive compared to where J is at.  But overall, it was pretty relaxed!

[ielene]

sound pretty good compared to Stateville. More visiting, longer hours and a place for kids to play. One of the hardest things about visiting Stateville is keeping my 2 year old granddaughter busy.

[dcal5150]

Do you know how many inmates are ther or when they will fill it?

[CMarie1881]

The max isn't open yet, just the minimum.  I think there are around 200 guys there now.

[merino2]

My husband is in thompson right now he got transferd to the minumim security prison with in the prison. They have it open right now for 200 men they said its like the lowest security place right now and its suposed to be a step before work release thats what we heard but i dont know!