An Obama administration official said Saturday the almost-vacant prison, which is about 50 miles from the Quad-Cities and 150 miles west of Chicago, is a “leading contender” to house the prisoners now in Cuba.

It it happens, the Thomson prison would be sold to the federal government, and the rest of the 1,600-cell facility would be used as a federal prison, creating thousands of jobs.

“Make no mistake about it, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Durbin said at a news conference at the Quad-City International Airport near Moline.

Durbin, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and others at a news conference Sunday at the airport downplayed the potential risks. They said people convicted of terrorism already are held in the state and that improvements to the prison’s security as well as the limited number of detainees would ensure the area’s security.

“I’d never chase jobs if I thought it would jeopardize the security and safety of my neighbors and friends,” said Thomson Village President Jerry Hebeler, who was part of the news conference.

Hebeler has lobbied to fill the prison, including suggesting moving the detainees from Guantanamo Bay here.

Administration officials haven’t said when a decision might be made, and neither Durbin nor Quinn could say Sunday when it might come. Durbin has said that fewer than 100 detainees would be put at Thomson, and he added the idea is that it would be the only place in the United States to hold Guantanamo Bay inmates.

The purchase of the facility is contingent on accepting the detainees, he also said. “The people who want this, other states, are going to be making a full package offer. We’d better be prepared to do the same,” he said. Officials in Hardin, Mont., Florence, Colo., and Marion, Ill., also have said they would welcome the jobs that would be generated.

Critics of the idea say they approve of selling the prison to the federal government but not accepting the suspected terrorists, whom they say represent a threat. They want to keep the prison in Cuba open.

On Sunday, Republican lawmakers from Illinois were circulating a letter to President Barack Obama opposing the idea and raised the prospect of a calamity.

“If your administration brings al-Qaida terrorists to Illinois, our state and the Chicago Metropolitan Area will become ground zero for Jihadist terrorist plots, recruitment and radicalization,” the letter said.

It added civilian prosecutions would occur in Rockford or downtown Chicago. “As home to America’s tallest building and leading defense suppliers, we should not invite al-Qaeda to make Illinois its No. 1 target,” the letter said. It was signed by seven lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Ill., whose district includes Thomson.

The Obama administration has sought places in the United States and overseas to place the detainees, as it seeks to close the controversial facility.

As of the end of September there were about 215 detainees at Guantanamo Bay, according to the Associated Press. The administration recently looked to a Standish, Mich., prison as a possibility for the detainees. Residents initially were welcoming to the idea, but they’ve cooled to it recently. The city council there passed a measure last month to encourage the state to find other prisoners to put at the facility, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press.

The prison since has been closed, and Durbin said Sunday he didn’t think the Michigan facility was a possibility for the detainees any longer.

He said accepting the prisoners in northwest Illinois would help the administration’s dealings with other countries as it seeks to place the detainees and help close Guantanamo Bay, which he said would be good for national security because it is a recruiting tool for terrorists.

“(The administration wants) to create a secure facility in the continental United States as proof positive to the rest of the world we can safely incarcerate, and they can, too,” he said.

Federal legislation would be required to move the prisoners here.
Last month, Congress approved a measure allowing detainees into the United States, but only for the purposes of prosecution.

Asked whether any state legislative action would be required, Quinn said the legal issues surrounding the move were being examined, but that he has the authority to move ahead with exploring the idea. Either way, he said he is confident the Legislature would be supportive.

There were a handful of Thomson area residents who were at the news conference Sunday, including a woman who held a sign supporting the proposal. Jennifer Hill, who lives in Morrison, Ill., about 18 miles from Thomson said she wants to see the prison fully opened.  She said her boyfriend had been hired to work at the Thomson prison, but now is working at a prison in Pontiac, Ill.

“Now, he’s two hours away paying good-sized rent,” she said.

Quinn said that guards who were hired for Thomson could apply for federal jobs if the deal goes through.