Administration’s End-Run on Purchase of Illinois Prison

Congress has repeatedly rejected the Obama administration’s effort to use taxpayer funds to purchase this [Thomson, Illinois] prison. It is clear that the funding law that Sen. Durbin voted for and President Obama signed does not suddenly authorize what Congress has repeatedly denied.’

Empty Prison in Thomson, Ill., bought by the Feds for for $165 million

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell released the following statement today regarding the Obama Administration’s decision to acquire the Thomson Prison in Illinois, despite signing a law that doesn’t authorize the purchase:

“Congress has repeatedly rejected the Obama administration’s effort to use taxpayer funds to purchase this prison. It is clear that the funding law that Sen. Durbin voted for and President Obama signed does not suddenly authorize what Congress has repeatedly denied. This election-eve purchase comes at the expense of delaying approved projects that are not in the President’s home state. And there is overwhelming, bipartisan opposition to the President’s plan to transfer terrorists from the secure detention facility at Guantanamo bay into the United States. Terrorists don’t deserve the same legal rights as the Americans they’re targeting. We should be focused on stopping terrorists, not defending them. And Americans would rather their tax dollars be spent preventing attacks from terrorists, than spent bringing them into their cities and towns as the Obama administration has repeatedly tried to achieve.”
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*The passed "funding law" was J.Res. 117, "Continuing Resolution" to keep the present government operational for six months. Under President Obama's orders, DOJ AG Eric Holder moved forward to siphon $165 million to buy this new prison. But payback was owed to Illinois Senator Dick Durbin (D) who backed Obama's bills and promised Illinois the prison would be bought by the Government. With the fact that Obama might not be re-elected, they moved quickly to close the deal. So we have Illinois / Chicago style Obama dirty politics using taxpayers dollars for the CR to purchase a prison in Thompson, Illinois. I am sure Obama will claim he has now created more jobs in Illinois.
Also Reads:

• Illinois Prison to Get Gitmo Detainees (ARRA News, 12/14/2009)
• Conservative Trio Supports Transferring Gitmo Detainees To Illinois ((HuffPo, 3/18/10)
• Feds To Buy Thomson, Even Without Gitmo Prisoners. (WatchDog, 6/21/2010)
• U.S. buys Thomson prison from state for $165 million (Chicago Tribune, 8/2/2012)

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