Illinois town chosen for detention center

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CRETE, Ill., May 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. government has selected a town 30 miles south of Chicago as the location for a detention center for illegal immigrants, local officials said.

The proposal by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to build a 788-bed privately operated facility in Crete, Ill. needs approval by the village board, USA Today reported.

Village administrator Tom Durkin said the proposed detention center operated by Corrections Corporation of America is being handled as any other potential economic development project for the town of 8,259.

Durkin said residents would have a chance to express their views at public meetings before the board votes.

Despite talk around town, it's not a done deal, he said.

Resident Kayla Pennington said she doesn't like the idea of a private company running the center and worries it will lower property values.

"There's no upside," Pennington told USA Today.

But Fred Rossi, 53, who is unemployed, sees the promise of as many as 250 jobs as a real plus.

"We need those jobs," Rossi said.