THOMSON, Ill. — When the Savanna Army Depot closed in 2000 and took 450 federally funded jobs with it, the jobs were supposed to be replaced with jobs from a new state prison to be built on the site.

Instead, the prison was built down the road in Thomson, and most of the jobs have never been created because the prison has been sitting mostly vacant since its completion in 2001.

Diane Komiskey, executive director of the Jo-Carroll Depot Local Redevelopment Authority, said a proposal to sell the Thomson prison to the federal government for use as a federal penitentiary and terrorist detainee operation would mean the return of federal dollars — and much-needed jobs — to the area, bringing the closing of the Army depot full-circle.

“And it is long past time to close that circle,” she said.

The Obama administration has estimated that the plan could create more than 3,000 jobs and have an economic impact of $1 billion over four years.

Up to 1,500 military and civilian Department of Defense employees would be part of the detainee operation, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons would have 800 to 900 people running the federal side of the prison. Beyond that, more jobs could be created through businesses that will serve the prison and the employees who move to the area to work and live.

Komiskey said federal officials expect prison employees would live within a one-hour radius of the prison, which includes several cities in Illinois and Iowa, including the Quad-Cities.

In addition to jobs created by increased demand for goods and services in those communities, the prison also could create more jobs by contracting with local businesses for services such as food delivery, building supplies, office supplies, waste removal, equipment maintenance and specialty medical services, said Ed Ross, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Jonathan Whitney, publisher of Thomson’s local newspaper, The Carroll County Review, said while he expects most of the employees who would come to work at the prison will live in other communities, enough may relocate to Thomson to provide a boost to local restaurants, gas stations or service businesses.

He said he does not expect a major development of new businesses or a change to Thomson’s small-town atmosphere.

“The way of life here won’t be destroyed,” he said.

Dawn Burkholder, owner of Dian’s Original Grooming, said she has a real estate license she hasn’t had much use for in Thomson in recent years.

She said the jobs created by the opening of the prison would benefit her dog-grooming business and the real estate business and she did not agree with those who oppose the prison plan because of concerns about safety.

“Let’s face it, this area needs the jobs,” she said. “It would be silly not to embrace employment in this area.”

Bruce Thomas, district manager for Allied Waste Services in Clinton, Iowa, said his company already has a waste removal contract with the Thomson Correctional Center, which currently houses 200 medium-security prisoners for the state. He said it was difficult to estimate how much more business his company would get if it is awarded a contract to serve the prison if the federal government takes over.

The city of Pekin has benefited from the federal prison located there, said Bill Fleming, executive director of the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce.

Fleming said the prison, which includes a medium-security unit for men and a minimum-security unit for women, has been a good corporate partner with the city since it opened in 1994.

While some politicians and local residents have expressed concern about the Thomson prison plan to send terrorism suspects from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the Thomson prison, Fleming said Pekin residents also expressed concerns about the safety before the prison there was built.

“(Now), I don’t think you could find a person in town who would think it was a bad thing,” he said.

Doug Wiersema, president and CEO of the Rock Falls Chamber of Commerce, said opening the Thomson prison could have economic benefits in his city, particularly for businesses that could bid for contracts with the prison. Wiersema said he was dismayed at how some politicians have reacted to the plan.

“The disappointment in this whole thing is that this has become one more political football,” he said. “Quite honestly, that stinks. That’s why nothing gets done in this country.”

Several economic development leaders in the area said they think they have adequate housing in the area to support any increase in need, while Komiskey said there is land at the former Army Depot site suitable to build housing, commercial or industrial developments needed to support the prison.

Steve Clark, chief of the master planning division at the Rock Island Arsenal, said any military personnel stationed at the prison would be eligible to participate in an Arsenal program that leases homes in the community for military personnel to use.

Clark said the Arsenal leases about 50 homes in the Iowa and Illinois Quad-Cities, more than enough to meet its current needs.

Komiskey said she asked federal officials who visited Thomson recently if there was anything the community needed to support the prison that didn’t already exist and was told the community has everything the prison would need.

She said talk of the jobs and money the federal takeover of the prison would bring to the community has created an “exciting time,” she knows nothing has been decided yet.

“I’m urging people to be cautious,” she said.