Gov. Pat Quinn said Thursday that he and Sen. Dick Durbin have joined a group of Republicans, including Sen. Mark Kirk, seeking assurances from the White House that no Guantanamo Bay detaineees would be housed at Thomson Correctional Center.
The state is in the final stages of trying to sell the vacant facility in northwest Illinois to the federal government.
The state still owns the Thomson facility because an Obama administration request for $170 million, which includes money to buy it, is tied up in Congress.
Quinn said the letter would help clear the way for the sale.
Last week, Kirk and other Republicans sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking for a firm commitment from his administration that it would "abandon any and all efforts to house al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists" at Thomson.
A 1,600-cell prison, Thomson would be converted by the federal government into a maximum-security facility.
| Full Coverage: Terrorists in Thomson |
