Illinois Officials Endorse Move Of Gitmo Inmates To Midwest Prison

(Springfield, IL) -- Using a federal prison west of Chicago to lock up Gitmo inmates would be an economic boost for Illinois and its citizens. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn told a Sunday news conference, "This something that is very good for our state, its good for our economy, its good for public safety." Federal officials from the Pentagon, the Homeland Security and Justice Departments, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons will inspect the Thomson Correctional Center on Monday. The Obama administration proposes shutting down the Guantanamo Bay prison for terror suspects at a U.S. Navy base in Cuba and transferring the inmates to a super-max prison in the U.S. The federal prison in Thomson, about 150 miles west of Chicago, is now largely vacant. If its used to house Gitmo detainees, about 100 of them would be locked up in a separate maximum-security wing under the control of the Defense Department. Governor Quinn says the move could generate 2,000 jobs and pump one-billion dollars into the local economy. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois calls the idea a "once in a lifetime opportunity" for his state. He said there are other states that would like to have the jobs and federal money involved.