From Gitmo to Illinois

The White House has directed officials to purchase a newly-built state prison in Illinois, where it will house up to 100 of the inmates currently held at the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Thomson Correction Center was finished in 2001—the year of the Sept. 11 attacks—but stands nearly empty today (apparently, crime is down in Illinois). Located near the Iowa state line, the prison would be declared surplus to Illinois’s needs, at which point it could be transferred to the feds. Evidently, Washington foresees it holding nearly half the 210 detainees currently at Guantanamo, which would be a big step toward realizing Obama’s election promise to shut the facility down.

Chicago Tribune