Fear Of Guantanamo Inmates Coming Inland Holds Up Thomson Prison Sale
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) -- Fear over Guantanamo inmates coming inland is holding up the sale of the state prison at Thomson.
As WBBM Newsradio's Dave Dahl reports, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Congressman Frank Wolf, a Republican whose subcommittee oversees appropriations for the Bureau of Prisons, has no reason to oppose the deal.
This comes as the latest development in an existing controversy over the matter.
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"Eric Holder, the Attorney General, appeared before the judiciary committee," Durbin said. "I reminded him he was under oath and asked him, 'are you going to transfer detainees to Thomson?' He said no. And secondly, Frank knows better. If anybody wanted to transfer Guantanamo detainees, they have to go to a military prison. You'd need money from the Department of Defense. His arguments are completely empty, wrong and really hurtful to the State of Illinois."
The United States military has detained terrorism suspects at its base on Guantanamo Bay in Cuba ever since the Sept. 11 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
The senator said at stake are $165 million for Illinois, and 1,100 jobs for the Quad Cities.
