Quinn
expects action 'rather quickly' on Thomson
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[November 24, 2009]
CHICAGO (AP) -- Gov. Pat
Quinn said Monday he expects swift action on a proposal to sell a
northwestern Illinois prison to the federal government to house Guantanamo Bay detainees, while a leading Republican critic,
congressman Mark Kirk, moderated his rhetoric on the issue.
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Kirk, who last week said "we should not invite Al Qaeda to make
Illinois its No. 1 target," said Monday he wants a "dispassionate
and specific" discussion about any proposal to sell the Thomson
Correctional Center. But he still sees it as an "unnecessary risk."
"But then I'm practical, I'm from the Midwest and I understand when
a deal has been cut. So then the question is, if we are to move
forward, then how do we move forward?" Kirk told reporters in
Chicago.
Kirk and other Illinois Republican members of Congress have a
detailed list of questions they want answered by the governor and
the Obama administration. Questions include: Where would trials for
the detainees be held? And would detainees leave prison for local
hospitals to get medical care?
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Kirk, who is running for President Barack Obama's old Senate seat,
and other Republicans have been accused of fearmongering in their
attacks against a proposal to move detainees to the maximum-security
prison in a farming community about 150 miles west of Chicago. The
facility has been nearly vacant since it was built by the state in
2001.
Thomson is the latest location to be considered as the Obama
administration looks for a place to relocate the detainees. Obama
wants to close the military-run detention center in Cuba.
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![](../images/ads/current/graueinc_lda-ani100109.gif) Federal officials toured Thomson last week, and they visited again
over the weekend.
Quinn said it's a good sign federal officials have taken such a
close look at the prison and that they have been "very impressed."
The prison has 1,600 cells, but budget problems have kept it from
ever being fully operational. It now houses only about 200
minimum-security inmates.
Quinn is pushing hard for the federal government to take over the
Thomson facility, promising that it will help create jobs in a
struggling area. Critics question the economic impact.
"I think this will move along rather quickly," Quinn said.
A spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Prisons said she did not
have a timeline for the administration's decision.
[Associated Press; By DEANNA BELLANDI]
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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