Federal Correctional Institution, Thomson

The Federal Correctional Institution, Thomson (FCI Thomson), formerly United States Penitentiary, Thomson and Thomson Correctional Center, is a low-security federal prison located in Thomson, Illinois. It has an area of about 146 acres (59 ha) and comprises 15 buildings. The facility is enclosed by a 15-foot (4.6 m), 7000 volt electric fence surrounded by an additional 12-foot (3.7 m) exterior fence covered with razor wire. Thomson has eight cellhouses with a rated capacity of 2,100 beds—1,900 high-security SMU beds and 200 minimum-security beds at the onsite camp—and according to BOP officials, the potential to use some of its high-security rated capacity to house up to 400 ADX inmates. From its completion in 2001 to 2006, it remained empty. By 2009, only the minimum-security section housed prisoners.

Federal Correctional Institution, Thomson
LocationThomson, Illinois
Coordinates41°58′20″N 90°6′30″W
StatusOperational
Security classLow-security (with minimum-security prison camp)
Population1,555 [1,424 at the FCI, 131 in prison camp] (December 2023)
Opened2001
Managed byFederal Bureau of Prisons

In October 2012, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) purchased Thomson Correctional Center from the State of Illinois for $165 million. Plans to transfer inmates from Guantanamo Bay to the facility had already been blocked by Congress.

In August 2014, Donald Hudson was named the first warden of the prison. The prison was fully activated in January 2019 and as of March 2020, the prison had an inmate population of 1,067. In June 2019, the prison crossed the 400 employee mark with an authorization to hire 200 more over the next few years as inmate population continues to ramp up. As of December 2023, FCI Thomson holds 1,424 inmates at the low-security FCI and 131 at the minimum security camp.

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