Visit to USP Thomson

I first learned about USP Thomson shortly before I transitioned from federal prison to a halfway house on August 12, 2013. At that time, the country was still recovering from the Great Recession. News reports described how the State of Illinois had built the prison in Thomson but, due to budget shortfalls, lacked the resources to operate it. Eventually, the Bureau of Prisons acquired the facility and converted it into a high-security penitentiary—just one step below the supermax in security level.

A Facility in Transition

When I visited USP Thomson years later to make a presentation, I arrived at another moment of transition. Staff were adapting to new demands and shifting priorities, working to create stability and safety in an environment designed for the highest levels of security. My goal was to contribute to that effort by showing how self-directed reentry planning could positively influence the culture of confinement.

Culture Change From the Inside

Prisons are not just buildings—they are cultures. Too often, the culture in high-security facilities is built on survival. That mindset may keep people safe in the short term, but it fails to prepare them for a return to society. If the only lessons learned in prison are how to do time, the outcome upon release is predictable—and too often, it is failure.

That’s why our mission at Prison Professors emphasizes something different:

• Define excellence.
• Document progress.
• Live as the CEO of your life.

When people memorialize their journey—through biographies, journals, book reports, and release plans—they create evidence of preparation. Those records help improve daily culture inside prison by shifting the focus from survival to growth.

Profiles as Tools for Change

At USP Thomson, I explained that each profile created on PrisonProfessors.org is more than a personal achievement. Profiles become part of a collective story—a data-driven argument that people in custody are working to succeed. With leaderboards that track effort and accountability, we can show stakeholders that change is happening and that incentivizing excellence is not just possible, but necessary.

Gratitude and Hope

I left Thomson grateful to the staff for their openness and professionalism. Change is never easy in high-security environments, but every conversation, every profile, and every plan written down helps shift the culture.

USP Thomson stands as a reminder that facilities built for the highest levels of control can also become places where people define, document, and demonstrate their capacity to return as law-abiding, contributing citizens. By fostering self-directed reentry planning, we take one more step toward transforming the culture of confinement and advocating for policies that expand pathways to liberty through merit.

Would you like me to also draft a shorter, staff-facing article in the style of an internal BOP recap (similar to what we drafted for Wardens Starr and Bolar) that Warden Thomson’s leadership could use to communicate the purpose and impact of your visit to staff?

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