Thread: Group pitches old Kane jail to house illegals

Group pitches old Kane jail to house illegals
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March 12, 2009

By MATT HANLEY mhanley@scn1.com
A local anti-illegal immigration group thinks it has an idea that will bring jobs to the area and create a use for an unwanted building.

The Association for Legal Americans wants the old Kane County jail in Geneva turned into a federal facility to house suspects on immigration and customs violations.

A group thinks the old Kane County jail on Fabyan Parkway would be a good place to house immigration and customs violations suspects.



The county and city of Geneva have been discussing tentative plans to tear down the jail and put up a hotel, clubhouse, inn and banquet facilities. The plans also call for the property to house a number of villas, a pool, a lodge and several rather high-density condos.

But Doug Heaton, president of the Association for Legal Americans, thinks the building is the perfect spot to add 400 beds for immigration detainees.

"Our group is always looking for ways to deal with immigration enforcement," he said Wednesday. "One of the impediments to enforcement problems is detention beds. There's never enough."

Heaton said using the old jail would have several advantages. Since it was already a jail, Heaton believes there would be few complaints from neighbors. It would also have the basic infrastructure in place.

"I just see them cutting it into a strip mall and 40 more homes," Heaton said. "I'm not sure we really need that."

Heaton pointed to a private company in Nashville that turned an old county jail into a 502-bed Immigrations and Customs Enforcement prison. According to the company, the facility was expected to create 200 jobs.

Heaton's Elgin-based group contacted several elected officials about the idea, but received little response.

Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay's first reaction to the proposal was economic.

"As with all ideas, where would the funding come from?" she said Wednesday. "Because we don't have it."

McConnaughay hasn't studied Heaton's idea -- which has not been presented to the County Board -- closely enough to determine whether she is for or against it.

There also may be a problem with the building's condition, she said.

"Any re-use of the old jail needs to take into consideration the required repairs to bring the building up to a standard that would allow it to be used," she said. "It is a very expensive building at this point to rehab."

Heaton admitted he hasn't been in the old jail. But he'd like officials to at least consider his organization's idea.

"I am not an expert on the shape of the jail," Heaton said. "I just want them to take a look."


http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beac ... S1.article

I like it! Recycling at its finest. And everywhere in the US with this recession/depression there are plenty of empty commercial buildings around that could serve a new purpose for the publig good, much more than condos, which not many can afford these days. Land cost and infrastructure cost are fine in an upward real estate market. If the shell of the building is sound so it does not need to be demolished, the cheapest thing would be challenging architectural students to design the interior. I know in San Carlos Park, FL, the school district took a vacant K-Mart building and turned it into an elementary school.