Thomson Prison ‘still a problem’ after staff member ends up in hospital

SPRINGFIELD (WGEM) – Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) expressed concern after an incident at a federal prison in Thomson resulted in an employee being hospitalized and the prison being placed on lockdown.

Officials at the Thomson Federal Correctional Institute said it happened around noon on Monday after an employee found a suspicious substance while searching a housing unit.

Durbin, who fought to open the prison, has since held hearings and investigations at the Carroll County jail.

“The management of this prison is a sore spot in Washington. We have held hearings on it. We want to make sure that the prisoners are treated as humanely as the staff in the prison, but it is still a problem,” he said Wednesday in Springfield.

Prison officials said the employee has since been released from the hospital. No one else was injured. The incident remains under investigation.

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