Thomson is a village along Illinois Route 84 near the Mississippi River in Carroll County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Thomson had a population of 1,610. Just north of the village is the United States Penitentiary, Thomson, a mostly-unused former state prison, purchased by the Federal Bureau of Prisons in 2012. Currently USP Thomson houses over 100 low-security inmates as it remodels to federal maximum-security standards.

Thomson is known for its watermelons, and it has the nickname "Melon Capital of the World."<!--For that information please click the "Location" tab-->

History

Prison

The United States Penitentiary, Thomson (formerly Thomson Correctional Center) 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. State budget constraints, as well as labor union opposition to closing other state prisons, prevented the maximum-security prison from opening. 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.

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. The facility was also 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.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Thomson had a population of 1,610. The population density was . The median age was 37.5 years. 7.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 7.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 491.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 611.4 males age 18 and over.

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 233 households in Thomson, of which 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 44.6% were married-couple households, 18.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

References

  • Village of Thomson
  • Visit Thomson