The Thomson Correctional Center is said to be a front-runner among U.S. prisons vying to house detainees currently held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Political reaction to the proposal to move terrorist suspects to U.S. prisons has shaken out mostly along party lines. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, Governor Pat Quinn, and gubernatorial candidate Comptroller Dan Hynes all support the federal proposal to buy the Thomson prison. Members of Illinois’ Republican congressional delegation, meanwhile, are raising concerns about the prospect—saying it’s dangerous and not the economic boom many are hoping for. 

Attorney and Northwestern University law professor Joseph Margulies gives us a sense of just who these prisoners are, and what a move to Illinois would mean for them.

Related:
Thomson Prison’s History of Promise