CHICAGO — A delegation from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons is scheduled to tour and inspect Illinois’ Thom son Correctional Center today as part of a White House proposal to move some terrorism suspects now detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, officials said Sunday.
Even as others cited security risks, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn called the Obama administration’s interest in the prison near the Mississippi River a “great, great opportunity for our state.” Housing the detainees here would be “good for our state, good for our economy and good for our public safety,” the governor said at news conferences in Moline and Chicago.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who also spoke, estimated that using Thomson to hold terrorism 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.”
Republicans on Saturday warned of the security dangers posed by housing terrorism suspects in Illinois.
“As home to America’s tallest building, we should not invite al-Qaeda to make Illinois its No. 1 target,” said Senate candidate and current U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk in a letter circulated Saturday.
Republican U.S. Rep. Donald Manzullo, whose district includes Thomson, was among several members of Illinois’ congressional delegation to sign the letter.
Thomson has been largely vacant since its construction in 2001 because of budget problems. The prison was built with 1,600 cells, but only about 200 minimum-security inmates are held there.
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 terrorism detainees, it would build a more secure perimeter around the site, Durbin said.
The Obama administration on Friday revealed that Thomson 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. Thom son, 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 Colorado’s Supermax facility in Florence and a site in Montana, Quinn said Sunday.
Reaction from some residents of Thomson Village, 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 so he could 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.”
