Chapter 1 - Crete
- samuelalove219
- Nov 4, 2023
- 20 min read
This is the first installment in a series about the successful campaigns against for-profit immigration prisons in the Chicago suburbs, 2010-2016. Created by Samuel Love.
15 November 2010 – Backroom Dealing in Crete, Illinois
Nearly a year elapsed before residents of Crete, Illinois learned of backroom deal-making between ICE, CCA, and their village officials.
October 2011 – "I immediately got a vomitous feel in my stomach."
Not until late summer 2011 did word spread around Crete that village officials were planning a prison at the south end of Hartmann Road.
Concetta Smart: I did a personal search to see if it was true. Township and village board meeting minutes had no info. Crete residents had no knowledge.
Anthony Rayson, a longtime south suburban organizer: Sometime in October of 2011, I received an email that the Village of Crete, or more accurately, the Mayor of Crete Michael Einhorn, was looking to erect a large immigration detention center in Crete. He would be the local point man for a project that ICE (the bully force of Homeland Security) and CCA - Corrections Corporation of America, which is the largest, for-profit outfit of private prisons, plus youth and immigration detention centers in the country.
I immediately got a vomitous feel in my stomach. I've known Einhorn as the long-time mayor of Crete who has had a reputation for disdain and ill-treatment of his workers and residents, or anybody who did not kowtow to his dictates. He's been very vocal pushing the Peotone Airport and the recently fast-tracked Illiana Tollroad, both also slated to be privately-run and forced - counter to the wishes and interest of the majority of the people in eastern Will County.
As well, it was learned that this project had already moved along for over a year, as Einhorn and his sycophantic trustees had had discussions with ICE, CCA and had already gotten a conditional land sale for this project. It was already late in the game and only now were the residents of Crete made aware of all of this and that, because people in Joliet informed Cetta Smart, who lives in Crete.
November 2011 – House Meeting in Crete
Anthony Rayson: Cetta Smart took the initiative. She sent out an email for a meeting at her house in Crete to discuss the situation. I knew I had to get involved. My sons went to Crete-Monee High School and I've been a fierce prison abolitionist for a long time. I couldn't just let the Mayor get away with this and it was good to know people in Crete were likewise aghast at this prospect. I alerted my contacts about the meeting as I'm sure others did too. This would take a full-bore effort and even thought I was already insanely bogged down with work I know I would have to devote a ton of time, money, and energy to this fight.
At the meeting at Concetta's house, I'd say about forty people showed up. We were hanging all over each other. This was a very good start! Cetta brought immigration activists from the city to give us a briefing on the immigration struggle, the roles ICE and CCA play, and basically what must be done. I figured we would have to start a whole new grassroots groups, specifically geared to stop this ting, which was what in fact soon happened.
Although I'd done intense prisoner support work for several years and have published a lot of prison-related information, I was rather uninformed about the immigration detention situation. But I took it upon myself to find out – fast! I started collecting material, first being the literature the folks from Chicago brought that night. I searched the internet and downloaded material and formatted it into pamphlets to be made available for tabling, mailing, and at meeting.
I believe Emily Burns was at this initial meeting. She was from the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs. Fred Tsao spoke on behalf of ICIRR – The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Sister Lisa Polega from the Sister of Mercy also spoke powerfully about the human tragedy of immigration detention and deportation. They and others are part of an umbrella group called The Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants.
December 2011 – Concerned Citizens of Crete and Neighboring Communities
Anthony Rayson: At the next meeting I attended at Cetta's house we started planning an upcoming informational forum at the Crete Township Center, located in the heart of town, set for January 9th. We decided on a name for ourselves – Concerned Citizens of Crete and Neighboring Communities. It was already December and we figured we'd have to wait until after Christmas to get people informed and involved. This gave us time to research, meet, make phone calls, talk to people, email people, gather information, and begin to get a handle on the intricacies of what all was involved here.
9 January 2012 – Community Forum at Crete Township Center
Anthony Rayson: [A]ll of our outreach to the community and beyond brought results. The capacity was I believe 76 people. At first there was just a few of us on this chilly evening. Soon a torrent of people filed in. Someone said we would have to close the doors as it was now beyond capacity. I said no! We must let everyone who wants to attend come in. I'd say double that amount of people came in. The meeting room was packed, with people lining the wall. The lobby was also packed and this is where I stayed with a fully-stocked literature table. In an adjacent room Fred held court with two or three dozen more people. We also had NO CRETE DETENTION CENTER yard signs available and they were going like hotcakes!
23 January 2012 – Packed Village Board Meeting
Concerned residents packed a Monday night village board meeting. Will County News captured video of the proceedings .
13 February 2012 – The People Speak Out
Concerned Citizens of Crete and Neighboring Communities kept pressure on local office holders with a continuous presence at village board meetings.
28 February 2012 – Community Forum at Crete Elementary School
Anthony Rayson: We organized another informational meeting at the Crete Elementary School, set for February 28th. By this time we had made contact with the group of immigration activists based out of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission, located in the Latino neighborhood of Little Village, in Chicago. These were the people and organizers fighting directly with those people being menaced by ICE and CCA by these harsh immigration kidnapping and deportation policies.
This was a much bigger venue and over 200 people attended - even though the Crete police confiscated all the signs I put out guiding people to the event. More media, a strong list of speakers, and now some of the Trustees came too, looking to learn about the issues and to gauge the mood of their constituents
30 March 2012 – Illinois Senate Bill 1064 Passes
Illinois Senate passed SB1064 by 34-17 vote. The bill aimed to expand state laws regarding for-profit prisons.
30 March – 1 April 2012 – 3 Day March to Crete
Moratorium on Deportation Campaign: ICE is negotiating with the village of Crete and Corrections Corporation of America to build a new Immigrant Detention Center. The contract has not yet been signed – and until it is, this new prison can still be stopped. A group of immigrants with and without papers will walk for three days from Chicago to Crete to oppose the Detention Center, from March 30-April 1. We are joined by friends committed to immigrant justice. We are reaching out for support from organizations large and small, from individuals and community groups. An itinerary with departure times, stopping points and arrival plans is coming soon. Walk with us, even for one mile!
Anthony Rayson: [T]he resolve was being forged to plan a march from Little Village, stopping at the gateway to Little Village (Cook County Jail) rallying, and then huffing it through the shattered dreams and bombed-out sidewalks of destitute south Chicago and suburbs.
Our Crete group was mixed in their reaction to the plans of those working out of the Mission. They wanted me to sort of outreach the situation. This was a dream assignment! I love this sort of stuff and I hate prisons!
We'd try to pull this thing off, somehow. None of the neighborhood or town officials wanted this to happen. Families, some with baby buggies pushing and walking their way, first to Cook County Jail and three days later, wind up at a ceremony at the site of a proposed prison. Welcome to America. Enjoy your incarceration!
They did all the work. They made dozens of colorful, plaintive, and wonderful protest sign - big, huge mural banners. They figured out where they could stay at night. It was all done on the fly by will and a passionate love of people. I tried to help along the way, schlepping signs and stuff. It was a real joy to see this bedraggled yet joyous group show up at one of the stops along the way, like Blue Island, Harvey, and Chicago Heights.
It was really hard on the feet of those people. Can you imagine trying to walk on those hideous sidewalks? It was also energizing. People literally counting on other people to catch them and rejuvenate them for the next leg of their journey. That is "People Power!" And when they reached Crete it was like a festival-like reunion. Cetta told 'em she was going to have a "family reunion." And so she did!
Moratorium on Deportations Campaign: Mainstream media accounts of the Crete Detention center were minimal, and mostly reading as advertisements for how fantastic the conditions would be for those detained. We hoped our actions would change this. The articles below generally do little to address the issue of immigrant detention, the extent to which enforcement and the exploitation of cheap labor are the cornerstones of corporate globalization. They are also extremely selective in terms of the people and voices and perspectives they are representing: filtering out the bulk of our analysis, toning down our passion.
1 April 2012 – Rally in Crete
Anthony Rayson: Sure enough we marched through town, with a giant American flag and a giant black flag. Yes, the 'anarchists' are in town. This was Crete's first ever protest of any sort. The town was stunned into incredulous bafflement. What is this? We went right down Main Street, stopping traffic on a busy Saturday afternoon - on April Fool's Day!
Samuel Barnett, for the People's Tribune: More than 200 supporters of immigrants rights marched on Palm Sunday to the site of a proposed for-profit immigrant detention center in the small village south of Chicago. Local activists and area residents were joined by a coalition of Chicago-based organizations who set out on foot Friday, March 30, from Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission on 26th Street in Little Village. These activists, which included the Moratorium on Deportations campaign and the No Name Collective, walked to highlight the connection between capitalism and the criminalization of immigrants, the expansion and 'cosmeticization' of the prison industry, and the impact increased deportations is having on families.
If approved by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Crete facility would have 788 beds, making it the largest immigrant detention facility in the Chicago area and one of five new centers nationwide. A report issued by village officials and the controversial Corrections Corporation of America describes an "ideal facility", LEED certified with "soft" interior settings and "non-institutional" design to "provide the least restrictive environment appropriate to the detention population." At this "normative residential environment with non-institutional furniture and finishes" deportees would be subjected to "enhanced but controlled freedom of movement" and clothed in uniforms simultaneously described as "non-institutional" and "less institutional."
Despite the language of a more 'humane' approach to deportation, the Obama administration is contracting for-profit prison corporations with dismal track records of abuse and neglect like Corrections Corporation of America and the GEO Group to build and operate these facilities. The GEO Group was cited numerous times by auditors in Texas for “atrocious and horrific conditions” at its prisons across the state. A Corrections Corporation of America facility in Arizona covered up the deaths of nine detainees. In the past decade more than 100 people have died in immigrant holding centers. This misery has reaped large profits for both industry and the state as the cost of detaining and deporting immigrants has doubled in the past five years.
Broad opposition already exists within Crete to negotiations between the village board, Corrections Corporation of America, and ICE. Testimonials from the marchers about abuses at Corrections Corporation of America prisons and the failures of immigration reform under the Obama administration helped expand the context of opposition. As we march on Mayday let us all bear witness that attacks on immigrants are part of the larger attack on the working class, and that the rights of immigrants are fundamental to the rights of all human beings.
23 April 2012 – CCA Go Away
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights: Today, political, religious and community leaders joined together to tell Corrections Corporation of America that they are not welcome in Illinois.
The Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the nation’s most notorious builder and operator of private prisons, has targeted the south suburban village of Crete as the site of a new detention facility to house as many as 788 federal immigration detainees. Private prison companies like CCA take in billions of dollars while scrimping on care for detainees and working conditions for staff. Just last year, CCA settled a lawsuit alleging that at one Idaho prison it ran a “gladiator school” using “Hunger Games”-like violence to control inmates.
Today's press conference also marked the supreme court hearing on Arizona's infamous SB 1070 this week. Through its association with the American Legislative Exchange Committee (ALEC), CCA was instrumental in developing Arizona’s cruel immigration law, SB1070.
CCA's disturbing human rights record and support of racial profiling legislation to increase its own profit margin paints a portrait of a company that we do not want doing "business" in Illinois.
For months Crete residents have been working to stop CCA from putting an immigrant prison in their backyard, packing government hearings and speaking out in the media to make sure their voices are not drowned out by CCA corporate dollars.
“We know that CCA has already hired consultants to try to meet with local officials and residents behind closed doors,” said Crete leader Jill Hornick. “CCA needs to deal with the community openly and publicly. The people of Crete do not want this facility, and we will make our voices heard.”
Illinois has already stopped CCA and other companies from operating prisons and now we need to close the loophole on immigrant detention centers. Senator Antonio Munoz and Representative Edward Acevedo have introduced legislation (SB1064) that would close the loophole and stop the building or proposed Crete Detention center and other future private detention centers in Illinois. SB1064 passed out of the Senate on a bipartisan 34-17 vote and is not in committee waiting a vote in the Illinois House.
Tell your State Representative to vote yes on SB1064 - stand up for the people Crete and close the CCA loophole.
23 April 2012 – Congressman Jackson Speaks Out
Jessie Jackson Jr., US Congressman, D-Chicago: Whether it's the Crete detention center for immigrants or the proposed state prison in Pembroke, prisons as a desperate and last-ditch form of job generating economic activity is not the economic future I want for the Southland. Prisons are what you get when public officials fail to provide positive economic models and projects.
I don't want Crete to become famous for building prisons and breaking up families. America is supposed to welcome the tired, the poor and the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Regardless of your feelings about immigrants, Crete is a vibrant and charming small town. That image would change drastically with a prison.
Thomas Durkin, Crete village administrator: The initial proposal began in late 2010. To date, we have not had one phone call, one email, or any type of communication from the congressman's office regarding this project.
Homeland Security, a branch of the federal government, has identified the need for such facilities. Our village has responded to their request to investigate the proposal. To date, that is all Crete has done. We have not agreed to any such facility. We have not stated that we are in favor of such a facility. We are only investigating the feasibility.
15 May 2012 – ICE Protest
Thousands of protestors poured into Chicago to oppose the NATO Chicago Summit. Office holders in Crete feared protests might reach the far south suburbs.
15-22 May 2012 – Protests In Chicago
21 May 2012 – ICE Meeting In Crete Canceled
Rick Bryant, Chief of Staff, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.: This is an important update for Crete residents. The town hall meeting for the proposed Crete detention has been postponed due to security concerns raised by NATO and outside protesters who are threatening to come to Crete.
Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., after consulting with local and federal law enforcement officials, has agreed to postpone Monday’s scheduled hearing for security reasons.
The Congressman remains opposed to a detention center in Crete, and ICE officials remain committed to coming to Crete to listen to residents’ concerns, before any decision is made. We will reschedule the meeting soon and I will let you know when and where that will occur.
Until then, however, please help me spread the word that Monday’s meeting has been postponed. Thank you.
21 May 2012 – Shut Down ICE!
Open Letter to Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. – SHUT DOWN I.C.E. Action!
May 21, 2012
SHUT DOWN I.C.E. – Celebrate People Power Over State Repression!
In response to our calls for a symbolic action at an I.C.E. “public dialogue” about plans to build a new Immigrant Detention Camp, officials canceled the I.C.E. event citing “security concerns”. We appreciate that they shut themselves down – but this is an effort to repress political expression and to avoid real public debate about Immigrant Detention. We will not cancel our action: SHUT DOWN ICE continues in Chicago! Join us to celebrate people power over state violence and to denounce efforts to repress peaceful political expression.
I.C.E. had scheduled a public meeting, hosted and moderated by Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr, to discuss plans for a new Immigrant Detention Camp in Crete, IL just south of Chicago. This meeting was meant to demonstrate that the Congressman and ICE officials foster open, public political dialogue around the issue, and seek “public input”. When we questioned the legitimacy of these claims, the meeting was canceled at the last minute, with Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr calling anti-NATO and pro-immigrant advocates a “security concern” for his district.
They attack and terrorize our communities, and then call us a security threat. We have just witnessed a wave of state violence against peaceful demonstrators, and immigrant communities have been under attack for years. The true open, political dialogue is represented by people standing up against the war at home and abroad, by social movements increasingly demanding, and creating, political change through direct public participation. The only “security concern” is a repressive system that criminalizes migration, poverty and political dissent.
We will gather to celebrate people power over state repression in nonviolent, symbolic action. We will not cancel our SHUT DOWN ICE action! In addition, we will remind the Congressman that he endorsed the NATO protests and his father participated in them, as is expected of politicians claiming to be “progressive Democrats”. We demand that he either retract his unfounded, alarmist and misleading statements about anti-NATO and pro-immigrant advocates, or add himself to the list of parties his office considers a security concern. Calling us a security threat incites police violence against us. We consider the Congressman personally responsible for any form of repression or police attack we may encounter as we exercise our right to assemble today.
-Moratorium On Deportations Campaign (MDC)
-No Name Collective
-SHUT DOWN I.C.E Action organizers
http://www.moratoriumondeportations.org
25 May 2012 – Illinois Sheriff Supports SB1064, Opposed Private Prisons
Mark Curran, Jr.: As Lake County sheriff, I support Senate Bill 1064, which would ensure any individual detained by the government is held in a facility that is public and directly accountable to the people.
The citizens of Illinois have long believed that detention is a job for government, not for-profit companies. In 1990, the Illinois Legislature passed the Private Correctional Facility Moratorium Act, declaring the management and operation of a correctional facility or institution to be inherently governmental.
Last year, the Illinois Legislature passed House Bill 2590, banning private county and municipal jails. The vote in favor of this bill was 115 to 0. Today, the Illinois Legislature has an opportunity to continue that legacy by preventing the privatization of civil detention centers such as the proposed civil detention center in Crete.
The civil detention center proposed in Crete is for detaining illegal immigrants. As a supporter of comprehensive immigration reform, I cannot support the construction of the facility. We should be uniting Democrats and Republicans to fix the problem and keep families together -- not building more prisons to tear families apart.
The U.S. government deported approximately 400,000 people during the last calendar year -- the most in American history. And it did so with existing detention facilities. This new detention center is more about helping private prison companies than meeting a need.
It is time for leadership. It is time for courage. The president claims to be a supporter of comprehensive immigration reform, yet his administration proposes this new detention facility. The schizophrenic nature of what is said and what is being done leaves us all with grave concerns. I urge members of the Illinois House of Representatives to demonstrate leadership and courage and support SB 1064 and take the Crete plans off the drawing board.
27 May 2012 – ICIRR Urges Support for SB1064
Lawrence Benito, executive director of ICIRR: Illinois faces a crucial decision: Do we allow a notoriously irresponsible company like the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) into our state, or do we send them a clear message that Illinois is not Arizona by passing Senate Bill 1064? SB 1064 would block state and local government bodies from contracting with private companies to run detention facilities in Illinois.
Illinois law already bars the state and local governments from contracting with private companies to build and run correctional facilities. As this law states, jailing people is a “uniquely governmental function.” SB 1064 would extend this decades-old public policy to civil detention settings and close the remaining door enabling the private prison industry to come to Illinois.
CCA, however, wants to build a new immigration jail in Crete, Illinois. A debate has arisen about whether this detention center is any good for Illinois. On our side of the debate are more than 1,100 local residents, law enforcement leaders, organized labor, the American Civil Liberties Union, more than 100 community organizations, and nearly every religious denomination, including the Catholic Conference of Illinois. On the other side of the debate are high-powered highly-paid prison lobbyists.
Last weekend CCA made national headlines when a riot flared up in its Natchez, Mississippi detention center — a center just like the one proposed in Crete. One guard was killed in the riot and at least 20 others were injured. More than 300 inmates ran wild, some using sticks and homemade knives. A bonfire started on the prison grounds with mattresses and wood gathered from the detention center. Local police chiefs and sheriffs had to be called in from across the state to fill in the gaps left by prison staff who were not given proper support from CCA.
This crisis is nothing new for CCA. In 2010, CCA was forced to settle a lawsuit because it was running a “gladiator school“ in an Idaho prison where guards forced inmates to fight one another as they watched. This isn’t even the first crisis in Mississippi, where another bonfire occurred years earlier. Chemical grenades had to be used at yet another CCA prison in Tennessee. A total of 24 immigrant detainees have died in CCA custody over the years.
CCA, a multi-billion dollar corporation, has a long, well-documented history of cutting costs, underpaying and under-training staff, and fighting unions. These profit-driven practices have created poor morale, high turnover, and personnel who are ill-prepared to handle their responsibilities.
It is important to set the record straight about jobs, too. This new center would be a job killer, not a job creator. The Crete facility is part of a plan by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to close up detention operations at three other detention centers in Illinois. This would result in what we estimate to be at least 185 lost jobs, with no guarantee that these employees would find employment in the new facility.
But above all else, the Mississippi riot this past weekend should end the debate on this issue. We don’t need that kind of crisis in Illinois.
31 May 2012 – SB1064 Fails in Illinois House
SB1064 prohibiting private security services in detention fails 57-58
11 June 2012 – The Sweet Defeat of the Prison in Crete
Anthony Rayson: More signs, more calls, more documented proof from the "Research Committee" to the Mayor and Trustees that CCA is a terrible business "partner" and that bringing a prison to your town is not an advisable move, economically. Socially and politically it sure hasn't proved so far for the powers that be!
More meetings, more canvassing, bringing the bill up again in Springfield, more news stories, in short, more pressure on a daily basis. Then one night in early June, at the village meeting, they announced that they had unanimously voted to disconnect from the arrangement with CCA as a business partner. They, of course, caught us stunned for a moment. They claimed it was their decision and our efforts didn't affect their decision. Yeah, right!
I saw the headline in the newspaper kiosk at the Homewood post office one morning on my way to work. Nice! Finally the good guys win one for a change! We had a couple of parties at Cetta's and Marimonica's.
We were lucky we only had to really convince the Trustees that it would be a terrible mistake to make, for themselves and the town's future. Luckily sanity rules in this instance. But we knew the problem would not go away and they would look for a more "secure" site to stick their prison. Sure enough they're clamoring to put it in Joliet now.
12 June 2012 – There Will Be NO Immigrant Prison in Crete
Moratorium on Deportations Campaign:
Dear friends,
After months of struggle, plans to build a new immigrant prison in Crete were defeated. There will be NO immigrant prison in Crete IL. We are amazed and inspired by the grass roots organizing that made this possible – from workshops that focused on education, to street actions that turned outrage into defiance.
• The Concerned Citizens of Crete mobilized to raise hell in their community
• MDC, Undocumented families from Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission and anti-prison organizers joined forces on a three day protest march, supported by Chicago Action Medical
• We staged a massive sit-in at ICE headquarters in Chicago – supported by Occupy Chicago and hundreds of anti-NATO advocates
Through all these actions, we showed that we are powerful! With no resources and no staff, hundreds of people came together to confront two giants – ICE and Corrections Corporation of America – and we won!
How do we celebrate this victory?
We hope to organize a public celebration next month, and that you will join us to reflect, share food and dance!! But right now, Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission is in the 10th day of a hunger strike to demand healthcare for undocumented immigrants in critical condition. Right now, we celebrate by showing solidarity with people who are fighting for their lives. Wednesday, June 13 is a march from the Mission (at 10:30AM) arriving at University of Illinois Medical Center (Taylor St and Paulina Ave), and on Friday, June 15th a caravan from the Mission (10:30AM) to several Chicago Hospitals.
To celebrate is to fight. To celebrate is to rise up in defiance, to live with dignity and to accept nothing else. To celebrate is to fight for a world with no cages, no borders, and no profit from the bodies and labor of human beings. We are building this world, we are not begging for it.
We learned in this struggle that we can only win as a sum of efforts, that it takes different communities, each fighting in their own way. Our differences come from unequal power positions – we cannot ignore these differences, we fight to overcome them. We also learned about people power, which comes from our bodies, our lives, our analysis, our voices – with no promise of gain, of political capital, or of organizational self-promotion. We celebrate with renewed commitment, with rage and great joy. The struggle continues!
In Solidarity,
Moratorium on Deportations Campaign (MDC)
No Name Collective
SOURCES
Nov 15, 2010 - The infamous Crete white paper.
https://moratoriumondeportations.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/the-white-papers.pdf
Jan 9, 2012 - Crete residents rally against proposed detention center
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/illinois/crete/crete-residents-rally-against-proposed-detention-center/article_18ea29a7-d699-5c35-8476-71e36929b391.html
Jan 10, 2012 - Halvorson says Jackson not doing enough to oppose immigration detention facility in Crete
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/illinois/crete/halvorson-says-jackson-not-doing-enough-to-oppose-immigration-detention/article_80585a78-bae9-53f8-a29e-506b286b103d.html
Jan 23, 2012 - Proposed detention center divides Crete
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-01-23/news/ct-met-crete-immigration-20120123_1_detention-center-immigration-system-concept-proposal
Jan 25, 2012 - TIF district could cut boost from Crete detention center
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-01-25/news/ct-met-crete-detention-center-tif-20120125_1_tif-district-tax-increment-financing-district-detention-center
Feb 13, 2012 - Village of Crete Minutes
http://www.villageofcrete.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/284
Feb 28, 2012 - Crete residents meet again to discuss proposed immigration detention center
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-02-28/news/chi-crete-residents-meet-again-to-discuss-proposed-immigration-detention-center-20120228_1_detention-center-crete-elementary-school-ic
Feb 28, 2012- Crete: Could Illinois soon be welcoming its first privately run detention center?
http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-muckrakers/2012/02/crete-could-illinois-soon-be-welcoming-its-first-privately-run-detention-center/
March 5, 2012 - Crete: Lax oversight and a history of abuse lead to doubts about the Corrections Corporations of America
http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-muckrakers/2012/03/crete-lax-oversight-and-a-history-of-abuse-lead-to-doubts-about-the-corrections-corporations-of-america/
March 7, 2012 - Crete: Will a promised economic windfall go to the prison company or to residents?
http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-muckrakers/2012/03/crete-will-a-promised-economic-windfall-go-to-the-prison-company-or-to-residents/
March 11, 2012 - More details on Crete detention center
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-03-11/news/ct-met-crete-detention-center-0311-20120311_1_detention-center-detainees-law-library
March 30, 2012 - Senate OKs bill blocking Crete detention center
March 30, 2012 - Call to Action: Walk to Crete
https://moratoriumondeportations.org/crete-detention-center/action-walk-to-crete/
March 30, 2012 - March From Chicago To Crete Protests Immigration Detention Center
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/03/30/march-from-chicago-to-crete-protests-immigration-detention-center/
March 31, 2012 - IMMIGRATION ACTIVISTS MARCH TO PROPOSED DETENTION CENTER
http://abc7chicago.com/archive/8602331/
April 1, 2012 - MARCH TO CRETE ENDS WITH RALLY AGAINST PRISON
http://abc7chicago.com/archive/8603700/
April 1, 2012 - No Crete Detention Center March and Rally
http://willcountynews.blogspot.com/2012/04/no-crete-detention-center-march-and.html
April 1, 2012 - Caminaron tres días, se oponen a cárcel para indocumentados
http://www.vivelohoy.com/noticias/8081930/caminaron-tres-dias-se-ponen-a-carcel-para-indocumentados
April 1, 2012 - March to Stop Immigration Detention Center
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/March-to-Stop-Crete-Immigration-Detention-Center-Culminates-Today-145481545.html
April 14, 2012 - Ill. immigrant jail threatened by contractor issue
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2012/apr/14/ill-immigrant-jail-threatened-by-contractor-issue/
April 18, 2012 - Labor Beat: Three Day March to Crete
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTjLET9a9WU
April 23, 2012 - Elected Officials, Community Leaders Tell Corrections Corporation of America: Illinois is NOT Arizona
http://icirr.org/content/elected-officials-community-leaders-tell-corrections-corporation-america-illinois-not-arizon
April 23, 2012 - Stop Prison Privatization - CCA Go Away
http://icirr.org/content/stop-prison-privatization-cca-go-away
April 23, 2012 - Illinois is Not Arizona Press Conference
https://picasaweb.google.com/103958000818356894173/IllinoisIsNotArizonaPressConference
April 23, 2012 - Rep. Jackson to address Crete detention facility
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/illinois/crete/rep-jackson-to-address-crete-detention-facility/article_5c85ad0c-f0f4-58b4-8955-44eb16f0c12c.html
May 4, 2012 - Activists Rally to Block a 'Guantanamo in the Cornfields'
http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2012.05/PT.2012.05.04.shtml
May 15, 2012 - Demonstrators Arrested at Immigration Protest
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/nato-chicago-immigration-march-151587455.html
May 15, 2012 - 4 Arrested During Immigration Rights Rally In South Loop
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/05/15/immigration-protesters-to-take-to-streets-for-nato-summit/
May 15, 2012 - Connecting NATO and the proposed Crete detention center
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pFx6ARrah4
May 16, 2012 - Leading up to NATO protests in Chicago.
http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-muckrakers/2012/05/anti-nato-activists-make-the-connection-between-military-alliance-and-local-immigration-battles/
May 21, 2012 - Town hall meeting on Crete immigrant detention center postponed
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-05-21/news/chi-town-hall-meeting-on-crete-immigrant-detention-center-postponed-20120521_1_detention-center-town-hall-meeting-security-concerns
May 21, 2012 - Hundreds Protest I.C.E. and Call on Them to Stop Racist Practices
http://chicago.indymedia.org/node/942
May 21, 2012 - Shut Down I.C.E. Pro-Immigrant and Anti-NATO advocates join forces
http://copylinemagazine.com/2012/05/21/shut-down-i-c-e-pro-immigrant-and-anti-nato-advocates-join-forces
May 22, 2012 - NATO Protests End Peacefully
http://chicagoist.com/2012/05/22/nato_protests_end_peacefully.php
May 25, 2012 - Lake County, IL sheriff Mark Curran editorialized in favor of Senate Bill 1064
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-05-25/opinion/chi-120525curran_briefs_1_detention-center-private-county-courage-and-support
May 27, 2012 - ICIRR on Senate Bill 1064
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lawrence-benito/private-prisons-illinois_b_1547020.html
May 31, 2012 -Senate Bill 1064 fails in IL House
https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/proposal-to-ban-private-detention-centers-stumbles/f31f08e4-84a3-4c3d-9e56-a8aa1616b1d3
June 11, 2012 - Crete Village Board unanimously rejects CCA bid.
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/illinois/crete/crete-village-board-rejects-detention-facility/article_c06cefb9-c829-5ec5-b485-89c4425c516a.html
June 12, 2012 - Illinois village rejects detention center
http://www.nhregister.com/article/NH/20120612/NEWS/306129934
June 12, 2012 - Illinois town blocks new detention center for the undocumented
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/06/12/illinois-town-blocks-new-detention-center-for-undocumented/
June 12, 2012 - Suburb Turns Down Immigrant Detention Center
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/crete-illinois-immigrant-detention-center-158620755.html
June 12, 2012 - Crete, Illinois says NO to CCA!
https://ccagoaway.wordpress.com/2012/06/12/crete-illinois-says-no-to-cca/
June 12, 2012 - For-Profit Immigrant Detention Center Blocked By Small Illinois Town
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/12/immigration-detention-center-illinois-private-prisons_n_1591114.html
June 13, 2012 - No Detention Center For Crete, But ICE To Look Elsewhere Near Chicago
http://www.progressillinois.com/quick-hits/content/2012/06/12/no-detention-center-crete-ice-look-elsewhere-near-chicago
June 13, 2012 - Crete Officials Vote Down Immigration Detention Center
http://chicagoist.com/2012/06/13/crete_detention_center.php
June 14 - Small Illinois Town Blocks Detention Center For Illegal Immigrants, Fights Against What Has Become Big Business For Private Prison Operators
http://www.mintpressnews.com/small-illinois-town-blocks-detention-center-for-illegal-immigrants-fights-against-what-has-become-big-business-for-private-prison-operators/30052
June 28, 2012 - Prison and immigrant activists celebrate victory over ICE detention center
YOUTUBE PLAYLIST
The story continues in Joliet...
Comments