Feds Eye Illinois Prison As Possible Holding Site for Guantanamo Prisoners

Reports are circulating that the White House is considering a sparsely populated maximum security prison in Carrol County, IL to house the terrorism suspects currently held in Guantanamo Bay. Now granted, MSNBC is about as unbiased and reliable as Iran's Press TV or Hezbollah mouthpiece Al-Manar TV, but other Chicago media outlets are picking up on it too.

Call me cynical, but I think this is a matter of President Obama helping out some of his political benefactors back in Illinois. The whole notion of trying enemy combatants in civilian courts here smacks of either naivete or politics on Obama and Holder's part- either way, it's unacceptable. But getting back to the possible move to Carrol County:

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the Senate's second-highest-ranking Democrat, said in a statement Saturday he would support the plan. He said the prison would house fewer than 100 Guantanamo detainees and would have a "significant positive impact on the local economy" by generating more than 3,000 jobs.

Keep in mind this is the same Dick Durbin that compared active-duty American military personnel to KGB and Khmer Rouge thugs a few years ago.

Also worth considering is the math involved- how exactly does housing fewer than 100 Guantanamo inmates translate to 3,000+ jobs? Are they using the same calculations that Obama used when they assured the American public that unempoyment wouldn't go past 8% once the stimulus was passed?

I'm wondering exactly how safe Durbin's seat is and who else in Obama's circle of freinds could benefit financially or politically from this Illinois prison opening it's doors to Gitmo inmates. Right now, it looks as though Durbin's trying to set himself up as good for the economy (if those 3,000+ jobs ever materielize) and hawkish or tough on crime by dumping some of the vermin from Gitmo onto the populace of Carrol County.

BUT WAIT!! It gets better! The unelected governor of Illinois, Pat Quinn, offered up this quote regarding the prison facility.

"We're here today to let the people know we're not going to let the fearmongers carry the day," Quinn said. "We're going to do things right, the Illinois way."

Umm.....wow. Given that the previous two governors of Illinois were either sentenced to prison or impeached and awaiting trial, I would have to say anything but the Illinois way is 'the right way'.