Politics & Government
CCA Says It Won't Build Detention Center in Joliet
After weeks of vocal public opposition, Corrections Corporation of America decided to "withdraw" its interest in building here, City Manager Tom Thanas said.
Corrections Corporation of America will not build an immigrant detention center in Joliet, City Manager Tom Thanas announced Monday.
The company's decision was made public toward the end of the Joliet City Council's pre-council meeting, just before residents were set to speak yet again against the proposed for-profit detention facility, a bi-monthly occurrence since the possibility of the center being built here was broached last fall.
"I was in a conversation this afternoon with representatives of the Corrections Corporation of America, otherwise known as CCA," Thanas said, "and they indicated to me that they are withdrawing their interest in Joliet as a possible site for a detention center."
Two weeks ago, the council asked Thanas to invite CCA officials to a future council meeting so they could explain what type of facility it might build in Joliet. The meeting request was instigated by At-Large Councilman Jim McFarland, the only council member to publicly state his opposition to the center.
Following the meeting, McFarland issued a statement in which he credited residents with influencing CCA's decision to abandon Joliet as a possible location. Public pressure also ended CCA's efforts to build a detention center in Crete when the board there rejected the proposal a year ago.
"The citizens of Joliet have spoken," McFarland said. "CCA apparently responded to the feedback given by the residents of Joliet, recognizing that a for-profit prison is not a good fit for our community.
"As a city, we can now start to focus on issues that directly affect the public good, such as the need to create sustainable, high-paying jobs and confront crime in our neighborhoods," he said.
Thanas said Monday that CCA's decision was, in part, tied to federal indecision over how to deal with immigration reform, which will dictate what type of demand there will be for these types of centers in the future.
"Obviously, the issue is not resolved in Washington, D.C.," Thanas said. "It may be many months or perhaps years before the issue gets resolved and they had made a determination that Joliet would not be under consideration for a site."
The anti-immigration center movement started almost immediately after it became known last fall that Thanas had spoken with CCA officials about the possibility of building a center in Joliet. The company has expressed a desire to build something in or near the Chicago market and was looking at locations in the wake of the Crete rejection.
Although the company never made a formal overture to the city about the center, residents opposed to the idea organized and held a series of public forums, rallies and press conferences to keep the issue in the public eye.
Representatives spoke at every council meeting, and they enlisted powerful political opponents, including Gov. Pat Quinn and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
"I was in a conversation this afternoon with representatives of the Corrections Corporation of America, otherwise known as CCA," Thanas said, "and they indicated to me that they are withdrawing their interest in Joliet as a possible site for a detention center."
Two weeks ago, the council asked Thanas to invite CCA officials to a future council meeting so they could explain what type of facility it might build in Joliet. The meeting request was instigated by At-Large Councilman Jim McFarland, the only council member to publicly state his opposition to the center.
Following the meeting, McFarland issued a statement in which he credited residents with influencing CCA's decision to abandon Joliet as a possible location. Public pressure also ended CCA's efforts to build a detention center in Crete when the board there rejected the proposal a year ago.
"The citizens of Joliet have spoken," McFarland said. "CCA apparently responded to the feedback given by the residents of Joliet, recognizing that a for-profit prison is not a good fit for our community.
"As a city, we can now start to focus on issues that directly affect the public good, such as the need to create sustainable, high-paying jobs and confront crime in our neighborhoods," he said.
Thanas said Monday that CCA's decision was, in part, tied to federal indecision over how to deal with immigration reform, which will dictate what type of demand there will be for these types of centers in the future.
"Obviously, the issue is not resolved in Washington, D.C.," Thanas said. "It may be many months or perhaps years before the issue gets resolved and they had made a determination that Joliet would not be under consideration for a site."
The anti-immigration center movement started almost immediately after it became known last fall that Thanas had spoken with CCA officials about the possibility of building a center in Joliet. The company has expressed a desire to build something in or near the Chicago market and was looking at locations in the wake of the Crete rejection.
Although the company never made a formal overture to the city about the center, residents opposed to the idea organized and held a series of public forums, rallies and press conferences to keep the issue in the public eye.
Representatives spoke at every council meeting, and they enlisted powerful political opponents, including Gov. Pat Quinn and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.
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