“They are weighing their options and Illinois is among them,” said Robert Reed, a spokesman for Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, a Democrat.The plan being considered for the Thomson Correctional Center, pitched by Quinn in a recent meeting with Obama, calls for the Federal Bureau of Prisons to operate it as a maximum-security prison and lease a portion to the Defense Department to house fewer than 100 Guantanamo detainees. The plans could include a purchase of the facility by the federal government, Quinn said.
The Thomson Correctional Center, located about 150 miles (240 kilometers) west of Chicago, was built by the state in 2001 and has 1,600 cells, but houses only about 150 minimum-security prisoners. The facility sits on 146 acres (59 hectares) and is enclosed by a 12-foot (3.6- meter) exterior fence and 15-foot (4.6-meter) interior fence.
A preliminary economic impact analysis found that federal operation of the facility could generate between 2,340 and 3,250 ongoing jobs. The analysis estimates that the overall injection of funds into the local economy would be between $790 million and $1.09 billion over the first four years. “This is an opportunity to dramatically reduce unemployment, create thousands of good-paying jobs and breathe new economic life into this part of downstate Illinois,” said Illinois Senator Dick Durbin.
There are 215 detainees at the controversial prison at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prison which Obama has vowed to close by Jan. 22. However, political and legal hurdles are making it difficult for his administration to meet that goal.
