Will This Prison Become ‘Gitmo North’?

Posted on Dec 15, 2009

AP / Charles Rex Arbogast

An aerial view of the Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Ill.

The Obama administration may have hit upon a potential answer, if not a solution, to the still-pressing problem of what to do with Guantanamo Bay detainees once the Cuban prison is shuttered. According to The Washington Post, the government has picked the Thomson Correctional Center in Illinois as a destination for “dozens of terrorism suspects”—but it’s not clear whether they’ll be prosecuted prior to their move.  —KA

The Washington Post:

Republicans in Illinois and in Washington called the president’s move risky and reminded the administration that a congressional vote is required before detainees not facing trial can be held indefinitely on U.S. soil. GOP members of the House will “seek every remedy at our disposal to stop this dangerous plan,” vowed Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio). A vote is weeks or months away, Democrats said.

Civil liberties groups, while embracing the goal of closing Guantanamo, said the administration would be wrong to move prisoners to the heartland without charging them with a crime.

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