Western Illinois prison being considered for some Guantanamo detainees

A delegation from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons is scheduled to tour and inspect a prison just across the Iowa-Illinois border today as part of a White House proposal to move some terror suspects now detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, officials said Sunday.

At news conferences in Moline, Ill., and Chicago, Gov. Pat Quinn called the Obama administration's interest in the Thomson Correctional Center a “great, great opportunity for our state.”

The village of Thomson is near the Mississippi River, about 15 miles northeast of Clinton, Iowa. Housing the detainees there would be “good for our state, good for our economy and good for our public safety,” he said.

Sen. Dick Durbin, who also spoke, estimated that using Thomson to hold terror suspects would generate more than 2,000 local jobs directly related to the facility and an additional 1,000 in the surrounding community.

“People are struggling to keep their homes. ... They're getting desperate. With the recession and the loss of jobs, they're not sure which way to turn,” Durbin said. “Now they've got a chance, a fighting chance.”

Thomson Village Board President Jerry Hebeler lobbied Quinn to consider selling the prison to the federal government to help rejuvenate the area that has suffered because the prison never fully opened.

“After eight years of living in limbo, we are open to any and all alternatives,” Hebeler said.

Reaction from some residents of the community of about 500 people has been generally positive.

Craig Mathers, superintendent of the West Carroll School District, which includes Thomson, attended a candidate forum where Quinn was speaking Sunday to get more information.

“I'm not too worried about safety and security because it was built as a maximum-security prison,” Mathers said. “I'm more concerned about whether to prepare for an additional 250 students showing up on my doorstep next August.”

Republicans on Saturday warned of the security risks posed by housing terror suspects in Illinois.

“As home to America's tallest building, we should not invite al-Qaida to make Illinois its number one target,” said Senate candidate and current Rep. Mark Kirk in a letter circulated Saturday.

Rep. Donald Manzullo, whose district includes Thomson, was among several members of Illinois' congressional delegation to sign the letter.

Durbin said Sunday he was confident the detainees would not be a threat.

“There are currently 35 people serving in the prisons of Illinois convicted of terrorism. ... They're all in our prisons, and they're all held safely,” he said. “There hasn't been a single escape from a maximum-security prison in the United States of America. This prison will have even more investment made to make certain these prisoners are held safely and securely.”

If the federal government does use Thomson to house Guantanamo's terror detainees, it would build a more secure perimeter around the site, Durbin said.

The Obama administration on Friday revealed that the largely vacant prison is a leading candidate to house a “limited number” of terrorism suspects. On Saturday, Durbin said that number would be “fewer than 100.”

The administration has faced a knot of problems as it works to close the detention center on the naval base in Cuba. Thomson, a maximum-security prison roughly 150 miles west of Chicago, could be turned into a super-maximum facility with a unit for some of the Guantanamo detainees.

It remains unclear how the detainees would be brought to Illinois and whether Thomson would be the sole domestic prison for that purpose. Several other sites have been under review by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Defense, and local officials around the country have volunteered their communities as host towns.

Federal officials also are reviewing sites in Colorado and Montana for the detainees, Quinn said Sunday. On Sunday, Durbin said the idea to look into Thomson as an alternative for the Guantanamo detainees was sparked in part by a letter to his office by Thomson Village President Jerry “Duke” Hebeler that noted with the prison largely empty as it is now, the town was “in limbo.”

“We not only read (the letter),” Durbin said, “we took it to heart.”