Harkin sees no reason to fear detainee transfer to Illinois

By James Q. Lynch

The Gazette

Sen. Tom Harkin is lending his support to a proposal to move terrorism detainees from Guantanamo to an Illinois prison.

He sees no security concerns and expects that as many as 20 percent of the 3,000 jobs at the northwest Illinois prison could be filled by Iowans from the Clinton and Quad Cities.

The Iowa Democrat told reporters Thursday he has to learn more about the proposal and the maximum security prison at Thomson, Ill., but sees no reason to oppose it.

“I mean, when was the last time someone escaped from a maximum security prison like this?” he said, adding that a number of terrorists including the “Shoe Bomber,” a 9/11 conspirator and the mastermind of an earlier World Trade Center bombing already are in prison on U.S. soil.

The Guantanamo detainees would be just a small fraction – perhaps 100 – of the total number of inmates, he added.