 In a joint statement, Durbin, D-Ill., and Gov. Pat Quinn said the
memo signals "the administration has narrowed its focus" to a nearly
empty maximum-security state prison in Thomson, a sleepy town of 450
people near the Mississippi River about 150 miles west of Chicago.
"Even though the final decision has not been made, we are encouraged
by this development," Durbin and Quinn said. "We will continue
working with the White House, the Defense Department and the Justice
Department to address important questions regarding security and job
creation, and finalize this agreement."
The document was posted on a conservative Web site known as Big
Government, which described it as a Justice Department memo.
A White House official described the memo as a "pre-decisional,"
stressing that a final decision has not been made. The official was
not authorized to discuss the document and would speak only on
condition of anonymity.
The Thomson Correctional Center was one of several potential
sites evaluated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons but has emerged as
a leading option to house detainees held at the Navy-run prison in
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Closing the facility is a top priority for President Barack
Obama. He has said he wants terrorism suspects transferred to
American soil so they can be tried for their suspected crimes.
The Thomson Correctional Center was built by Illinois in 2001,
with designs on improving the local economy. State budget problems
have kept the 1,600-cell prison from fully opening. At present, it
houses about 200 minimum-security inmates.
[to top of second column]
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It's not clear how many detainees from Guantanamo would be
transferred or when. Obama had originally set a closing date for the
Guantanamo Bay prison on Jan. 22, but the administration has
acknowledged that deadline is no longer likely to be met.
If the facility is chosen, it would likely be purchased by the
Federal Bureau of Prisons and run primarily as a standard federal
prison. However, a portion of the facility would be leased to the
Defense Department to house a limited number of Guantanamo
detainees.
Many local officials, as well as Durbin and Quinn, have cheered
on news that the Thomson facility may be selected. But some
lawmakers have also voiced opposition to the idea that terrorism
suspects would be brought to Illinois.
Earlier this year, Rep. Mark Kirk, a suburban Chicago Republican
seeking Obama's old Senate seat in 2010, asked elected officials to
write Obama opposing a plan that would bring terrorism suspects to
Illinois. Kirk has said that doing so would make the prison and the
state targets for terrorist attacks.
Thomson is not the only U.S. town that had hoped to lure
Guantanamo detainees. Officials in Marion, Ill., Hardin, Mont., and
Florence, Colo., also have said they would welcome the jobs that
would be generated.
[Associated Press;
By HENRY C. JACKSON]
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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