Tagged: Gov. Pat Quinn

The federal Bureau of Prisons today filed documents in federal court in Rockford to acquire Thomson Correctional Center at a price of $165 million. More than 1,100 jobs are expected to be generated once the facility is fully operational.

The announcement was made this afternoon at the prison by Gov. Pat Quinn, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Thomson Mayor Jerry “Duke” Hebeler, who initially proposed in 2009 that the prison be sold to the federal government as an economic boost  to the area.

Quinn tours drought-stricken Southern Illinois farm

With the warm spring, farmers were able to plant early and corn and soy seeds went in at a remarkable pace.

"We were set out to raise what we thought was probably the largest corn crop in the history of American agriculture," Said Illinois Farm Bureau President Phillip Nelson.

Instead, months of drought are killing those expectations ... and the corn. Nelson says some farmers will end up with no crop, or only half of one.