Officials to inspect Illinois jail for Gitmo inmates

THOMSON, Ill. (AP) -- Federal officials are due to arrive in rural northwest Illinois to inspect a prison that could be bought by the federal government and used to house Guantanamo Bay detainees.

Officials from the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Defense are expected Monday at the Thomson Correctional Center. It's about 150 miles west of Chicago.

Gov. Pat Quinn and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin say the potential sale could be a once-in-a-lifetime economic opportunity to help create about 3,000 jobs in the economically depressed area.

But critics, including Republican members of Congress from Illinois, have been quick to condemn the prospect of the sale because of safety concerns.

Thomson was built in 2001, but has been largely vacant since then because of budget problems.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)