A debate has erupted over whether putting scores of Guantanamo detainees into rural Illinois jails would be good for the rural economy. Federal officials were in northwest Illinois Monday inspecting a largely vacant maximum security prison (above) in Thomson. The perfect home for 100 possible terrorists. And, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Sen. Dick Durbin, both Democrats, claimed this move would create about 3,000 jobs around the town. 

The Ds are picking up this line — and it's an old one: the economic benefits of prisons.  "At a time when Illinois is facing recession ... this is a lifeline. This is an opportunity," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told reporters Monday. "These people deserve a fighting chance to save their communities ... and this project will give them that chance." Durbin called it a "competition" to see which community would house the prisoners. 

Republicans scoffed, saying he prison would only create 500 jobs, and warned of trouble ahead for any rural town that housed the prisoners. "By moving the Al Qaeda core to Thomson along with 1,500 U.S. troops, the United States will publicly brand Illinois as the new Gitmo," said Rep. Mark Kirk, an Illinois Republican. According to Fox News, "Kirk and other Republicans warn that Thomson could become a terrorist target and say the economic benefits would be relatively slight." 

The recession is putting the squeeze on rural public transportation.

Job losses are increasing the number of rural people in Georgia who want to use public transportation, according to the Associated Press. But the economy is also making it harder for local governments to pay for transportation systems.

The main source of funding for rural "dial-a-ride" programs is the Federal Transit Administration. This funding has increased in the last three years. But local governments in Georgia are having a hard time coming up with the remaining funds to keep their systems running.

"The recession is making riders out of laid off workers who never depended on public transportation before, but now need it for everything from a doctor's visit to a job interview," reports the AP.

" 'They may have a car, but they just don't have the gas money,,' said [Southwest Georgia Regional Commission director Dan] Bollinger, who's seen ridership go up roughly 15 percent since the recession started."

Meanwhile, a group working on reauthorization of the federal transportation bill says Georgia's rural transit problem is part of a national trend of increased public transit ridership in the face of shrinking budgets.

If we bail out New York City, what about New York Mill, Minnesota? Are we in this together, or are we on our own?

Greensberg, Kansas, was wiped out by a tornado in May 2007. Eleven people were killed and the town of 900 was flattened. It's since been rebuilt as a model of green technology. A report in the New York Times by Keith Schneider tells of the extraordinary efforts that have transformed the town into a gleaming example of new, energy saving and creating technology. 

The John Deere dealership has the highest green ratings available. “We had the chance to start over,” said Mike Estes, who owns the dealership. “What do you do when you start with a clean slate? You want to build it better. Right?” Right, indeed — not only for the Deere dealership but for the whole town. There's an arts center (above) powered by windmills and a bank of solar photovoltaic panels -- heated and cooled by a geothermal system. The courthouse is being renovated to the highest standards and a new hospital being built on the highway outside of town intends to be the first platinum rated LEED critical-access facility in the nation. The hospital even captures rainwater to use to flush the toilets. 

Will Greensberg survive after the rush of building is complete? The town has also seen the construction of a 10,000 square foot business incubator on Main Street. Funding was provided by Frito-Lay, the federal Department of Agriculture and the actor Leonardo DiCaprio.