THOMSON, Illinois -- The warden of Thomson Prison is pushing the community to enhance its housing offerings and lifestyle amenities.
In a letter to the community, Donald Hudson, the warden of Thomson Prison discussed the needs of their staff. As of May 24, the day the letter came out, Thomson Prison employed nearly 400 staff, with the intent to employ more than 600.
In April of 2019, Thomson Prison started offering incentives to attract people to work at the facility. In the letter, Hudson implied that they may have better luck getting and keeping staff members if there was more housing development in the area. Mentioning the new incentives in his letter, Hudson said "this may not be enough to entice staff to reside in the local community."
"Affordable and desirable housing along with good quality schools and day care centers determine where Bureau of Prisons' staff reside. They need apartments, rental houses, starter homes, and larger homes for their expanding families," said Hudson.
Ultimately, Hudson is asking area residents to "create conversations among community leadership and residential developers."
