Built nearly ten years ago, the Thomson Correctional Center has been less than the economic boon residents of the tiny town of Thomson, Illinois had hoped for. But now as many as 1-hundred detainees from Guantanamo may soon be calling the wind swept prison yard home.

Thomson’s village president,Jerry Hebeler, proposed the idea to have at least some of the detainees brought to the northwestern Illinois town to Illinois governor Pat Quinn and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin. Now the idea is gaining traction in Washington leaving democrats and republicans arguing over the security of citizens in America versus the jobs and prosperity the detainees and those guarding them would bring.

On Monday, officials from the Federal Bureau of Prisons toured the prison to see if it would be a suitable home for Guantanamo detainees. There is no telling on how long until a decision is made but President Obama has said he would like to close Guantanamo by January 2010.{VignetteVideo assettitl=”Prison+Video” id=”63FFDCC3C3445D5AA3BDB475EA4D3B11″ width=”375″ aspectratio=”1.77″ height=”211.864406779661″ autoplay=”on” }