Immigraton agency targets Crete for detention facility

CRETE | The village of Crete has been granted tentative approval as a potential site for a privately owned immigration detention facility.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency has tentatively selected an undisclosed industrial site within the village boundaries for the operation and management of a new generation detention facility for the Chicago region.

"We were contacted by Corrections Corporation of America about a site in the village," Village Administrator Thomas Durkin said in a telephone interview. "The CCA told us they felt Crete had an excellent location in an industrial site for such a facility. We felt it was our responsibility to perform due diligence and investigate the possibility."

Durkin declined to identify the location.

CCA is a private company that would own and operate the detention facility, working in conjunction with ICE.

If the detention facility became a reality, it could bring significant economic development to Crete, Durkin said.

"A facility like this has the potential to bring many jobs to Crete," Durkin said. "It also has the potential to bring a significant amount of revenue from property taxes."

Durkin said the village has not made any decisions regarding the facility.

"This is in the very early stages of development," Durkin said. "We (village officials) have to look at a lot of things before we can decide if this is good for Crete."