Guantanamo Bay

Gitmo Detainees To Move North

Christina Bellantoni | December 15, 2009, 8:24AM

Late last night news broke that the Obama administration plans to transfer detainees from the Guantanamo Bay prison to a correctional center in Illinois.

An administration official told TPMDC last night:

On Tuesday, the administration will announce that the president has directed that the federal government proceed with the acquisition of the Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Illinois to house federal inmates and a limited number of detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Closing the detention center at Guantanamo is essential to protecting our national security and helping our troops by removing a deadly recruiting tool from the hands of al Qaeda. Tuesday's announcement is an important step forward as we work to achieve our national security objectives.

Gov. Pat Quinn and Sen. Dick Durbin will get a White House briefing Tuesday afternoon on the decision. They are among the supporters who say using Thomson would create new jobs.

Like everything, there are political consequences here as Senate candidate Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) has been the most vocal opponent to the idea. Other Republicans are balking as well.

But as we reported a few weeks ago, an unlikely coalition of conservatives are backing the plan.

Guantanamo Bay

Gov. Quinn, Sen. Durbin 'Encouraged' Obama Memo Suggests Thomson To Be Gitmo Replacement

Christina Bellantoni | December 11, 2009, 6:57PM

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Gov. Pat Quinn said they are encouraged that a draft memo has surfaced indicating Thomson Correctional Center may be the choice to replace the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Andrew Breitbart has the memo here.

An administration official tells TPMDC it is a "draft, predecisional document that lawyers at various agencies were drafting in preparation for a potential future announcement about where to house GTMO detainees."

"Drafts of official documents are often prepared for any and all possibilities, regardless of whether a decision has been made about the policy or if the document will be used," the official said.

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