Thomson, Illinois

Thomson
Village
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad depot in Thomson in November 2016, serving as a museum.
Nickname: The Melon Capital of the World
Country United States
State Illinois
County Carroll
Township York
Elevation 597 ft (182 m)
Coordinates 41°57′31″N 90°05′56″W / 41.95861°N 90.09889°W / 41.95861; -90.09889Coordinates: 41°57′31″N 90°05′56″W / 41.95861°N 90.09889°W / 41.95861; -90.09889
Area 2.38 sq mi (6 km2)
 - land 2.38 sq mi (6 km2)
 - water 0.00 sq mi (0 km2)
Population 590 (2010)
Density 253.2/sq mi (98/km2)
Village President Vicky Trager
Timezone CST (UTC-6)
 - summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code 61285
Area code 815
Location of Thomson within Illinois
Wikimedia Commons: Thomson, Illinois
Website: http://www.thomsonil.com

Thomson is a village along Illinois Route 84 near the Mississippi River in Carroll County, Illinois, United States. The population was 590 at the 2010 census, up from 559 at the 2000 census. Just north of the village is the Thomson Correctional Center, a mostly-unused maximum security state prison.

Thomson is known for watermelons, and it has the nickname "Melon Capital of the World."[1]

Geography

Thomson is located at 41°57′37″N 90°6′11″W / 41.96028°N 90.10306°W / 41.96028; -90.10306 (41.960168, -90.103152),[2] about a mile (kilometer and a half) east of the Mississippi River in northwestern Illinois, 9 miles (14 km) northeast of Clinton, Iowa, 38 miles (61 km) northeast of Moline, Illinois in the Quad Cities, and 120 miles (190 km) west of Chicago.

According to the 2010 census, Thomson has a total area of 2.38 square miles (6.16 km2), all land.[3]

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1880380—
1890374−1.6%
190046724.9%
19104874.3%
19204951.6%
19305082.6%
19405294.1%
19505595.7%
1960543−2.9%
197061713.6%
198091147.6%
1990538−40.9%
20005593.9%
20105905.5%
Est. 2015562[4]−4.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[5]

As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 559 people, 234 households, and 160 families residing in the village. The population density was 253.2 people per square mile (97.7/km²). There were 244 housing units at an average density of 110.5 per square mile (42.6/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.32% White, 0.54% Native American, 0.89% Asian, 0.36% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.54% of the population.

There were 234 households out of which 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.8% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.2% were non-families. 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the village the population was spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.7 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $36,667, and the median income for a family was $41,250. Males had a median income of $39,000 versus $22,143 for females. The per capita income for the village was $17,261. About 4.5% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.6% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.

History

Prison

Thomson Correctional Facility was opened in 2001, but as of 2009 has never had a prisoner in its main, 1600-bed maximum-security unit; the only prison population has been in the 200-bed minimum security unit, which was populated in 2006 and averages about 150 prisoners. The minimum security unit has an annual budget of $7 million.[7] State budget constraints as well as labor union opposition to closing other state prisons prevented the maximum-security prison from opening.[7]

In 2008, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich proposed to close the state prison in Pontiac, Illinois and to open the Thomson maximum-security unit instead. However, Blagojevich was subsequently arrested on December 9, 2008, and removed from office. His replacement, Governor Pat Quinn cancelled plans to close the Pontiac prison in March 2009, leaving Thomson unused.[7]

In 2009 the United States government announced that prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp would be moved to the prison in Thomson.[1] CNN stated that before the decision was announced, many people in the town wanted the Guantanamo prisoners to be housed there so the town could get economic benefits.[7][8]

On December 15, 2009, President Barack Obama ordered the federal government to proceed with acquisition of the underutilized state prison in Thomson to be the new home for a limited number of terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.[9] The facility was also be used as a Bureau of Prisons facility to house other federal inmates. In response to the 2009 presidential order, the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which represents 13,000 Illinois prison staff, argued that rather than turn the maximum security unit over to the Federal government, it should be used to relieve overcrowding in other Illinois prisons. AFSCME claims that the other facilities were designed for 32,000 prisoners, but currently house 45,000.[7] Subsequent Congressional banning of federal expenditures for imprisoning in the United States of terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, stopped the Obama plans regarding those terror suspects, even though the federal government announced on October 2, 2012 that the acquisition of Thomson is going forward.

References

  1. 1 2 "Some Guantanamo detainees to be moved to Illinois." CNN.com. December 15, 2009. Retrieved on December 15, 2009.
  2. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  3. ↑ "G001 - Geographic Identifiers - 2010 Census Summary File 1". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  4. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  6. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Barrett, Joe (December 19, 2009). "Guantanamo Detainees Welcome Here". Wall Street Journal. p. A6.
  8. ↑ Fantz, Ashley (2009-12-15). "Many in Illinois town hope locating Gitmo detainees there helps business". CNN.com. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
  9. ↑ Jackson, Henry C. (2009-12-15). "Rural Illinois prison to get some Gitmo detainees". Yahoo!. Associated Press. Archived from the original on December 16, 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
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