Geneva Church Hosts Marchers Passing Through on 150-Mile 'De-Incarceration' Pilgrimage

A Geneva church rallied 20 pacifists this past weekend in support of peace marchers passing through on a 150-mile "de-incarceration" trek from Chicago to Thomson, Illinois.

The Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva met walkers by presenting a program in opposition to mass incarceration, isolation and solitary confinement, indicated user-contributed posts in several publications, including The Chicago Tribune. Members also provided a potluck dinner and shelter for the evening.

Spearheaded by the Voices for Creative Nonviolence, the in-process 150-mile journey commenced May 28 and is expected to conclude June 11. Participants are protesting federal plans to add 1,900 isolation cells to northwestern illinois' Thomson Correctional Center.

Initial rumblings about the controversial expansion surfaced amidst a growing debate over the use of solitary confinement in U.S. prisons and jails. If federal plans come to fruition, the cell addition would double the Thomson facility's current capacity for segregation.

Critically referred to as a "supermax federal prison-in-the-making," the Thomson Correctional Center was vacant until July 2015, when its first 80 inmates — minimum security ones — settled in to, "perform jobs to help prepare the prison to operate fully," NBC Chicago and The Moline Dispatch reported at the time.

Construction of the State of Illinois-built institution wrapped up in 2001 but the center never became fully operational because of budget constraints. Federal officials have since allocated $53.7 million to breathe new life into its grounds after ponying $165 million in 2012 to buy it.

Justice Department officials contend that they will rely on Thomson to alleviate overcrowding that has long-plagued the Federal Bureau of Prisons' highest-security institutions.

The 1842-established Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva, 102 S. Second St., is the oldest church in the city. Its members echo Voices for Creative Nonviolence activists' discontent for the ever-evolving Thomson overhaul. According to its website, the church's mission is to, "encourage individual and mutual responsibility as we work to be a liberal, religious voice in the community and a force for compassionate social justice."

The accompanying photo is courtesy of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of DeKalb Facebook Page.