Proposed Immigrant Detention Center Stirs Debate In Crete
CRETE, Ill. (CBS) -- The issue of immigration is sharply dividing the south suburban community of Crete.
U.S. immigration officials have selected the village as a possible new site for a lockup where hundreds could be detained.
But some residents are saying "Not in my back yard," CBS 2's Pamela Jones reports.
The signs from neighbors are clear: No detention center in Crete.
Residents say it's too much for their village and could drive property values down.
The 500- to 700-bed facility would hold immigration detainees who require minimum to maximum security.
A private firm, Corrections Corporation of America, is behind the plan.
Residents who attended a Monday night village board meeting believe much of the proposal is veiled in secrecy. Some paperwork they requested has many of the details blacked out.
"Some of the information at this point, by state statute, is permissible to redact, and some of it is proprietary information," Village Administrator Thomas Durkin said.
The village says it has nothing to hide. Durkin says the proposal is so far just an idea – far from being a completed project.
