We’ve been following the transfer of detainees from the prison at Guantanamo Bay and tonight we learn the administration will be acquiring a correctional center in Illinois to make the transition to closing Gitmo.
An administration official tells TPMDC:
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.