Detainees May Be Moved to Illinois

A heated debate to bring Gitmo detainees to Illinois is under way among the state's lawmakers, with supporters cheering the economic opportunity and detractors claiming the move would make the state a target. Governor Patrick J. Quinn and Senator Richard J. Durbin voiced support for Guantanamo Bay prisoners to be transferred to a maximum-security prison, which cost taxpayers $120 million and has sat unused, in a rural area outside of Chicago. The White House is interested in the move, and a spokesperson said it was "a leading option" to get the detainees out of Cuba. But Republican leaders in the state want to keep terrorist suspects at bay on foreign soil, and argue that they should not be handled in the civilian system. The president has yet to fulfill his promise to close down Guantanamo within a year of his swearing in, and laws regarding the prosecution of detainees are murky.