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| Hare Supports Move to Thomson |
Another Democrat is coming out in favor of the idea of transferring Guantanamo Bay detainees to Illinois' mostly empty Thomson Correctional Center . But he says it's not a snap decision.
U. S. Rep. Phil Hare (D-Rock Island), whose Western Illinois district borders the one that includes Thomson, says he received a National Security Council briefing on the plan before endorsing it.
He says the idea, which surfaced last weekend, should "rise or fall on its merits," as opposed to what he characterizes as fear-mongering by the likes of U. S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Highland Park) and other Republicans, whose claims Hare says are not accurate.
Hare, speaking to Illinois reporters on a conference call Wednesday, says the U. S. is "the strongest nation on the planet, and I think it's time we started acting like that." Kirk and others say housing terror suspects in Illinois will dangerously expose Thomson and Chicago. Hare says Miami has had no Guantanamo-related problems despite being closer to that prison than Chicago is to Thomson.
Hare also says the detainees would be unable to receive visitors other than their lawyers and Red Cross workers, refuting the argument that terrorists and their relatives would set up camp in northwestern Illinois.
Hare says while the prison industry is not a cure-all for every town’s economic woes, he challenges Kirk and other opponents to suggest a way to bring thousands of good-paying jobs to the region.
(Illinois Radio Network) |
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| 11 19 09 by Newsroom |
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