Thomson prison offering bonus to new correctional officers

THOMSON – Looking for a new career?

Thomson federal prison has more than 100 openings for correctional officers, and to fill them, officials are offering a sign-on incentive: New officers who enter service by Sept. 30 and serve satisfactorily for a year will get a $4,000+ bonus.

The bonus is 10% of their salary, which starts at $41,868 a year, public information officer Nicole McDowell said in a news release Monday.

The prison at 1100 One Mile Road has about 400 inmates now – 90 in its minimum security camp – and 217 employees. The goal is to have 800 to 900 inmates and 500 employees by the end of the year. When fully activated, it will house around 1,500 inmates.

In October, the prison held a job fair at Sauk Valley Community College and at the time, officials said they planned to fill up to 300 slots, with 300 more to be filled by the end of this year. This round of hiring is part of that effort.

Some of those who applied for jobs then but did not hear back should reapply, McDowell said.

Military veterans also are encouraged to apply; the hiring requirements are less stringent. For example, correctional officer hopefuls must apply before their 37th birthday; that age restriction does not apply to veterans.

The state finished building the prison in 2001, but it sat empty for more than a decade because Illinois didn’t budget enough money to open it. In 2012, it was announced that the Bureau of Prisons would buy the facility for $165 million.

The prison is meant to alleviate overcrowding in the federal system and promote economic growth in the region.

MORE INFORMATION

Learn more about the and the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the requirements for the correctional officer job, and other job openings, at bop.gov; apply at usajobs.gov.

Contact the Administrative United States Penitentiary, in Thomson’s Human Resource Department at TOM/Recruitment@bop.gov or 815-259-1000 for more information.