Taking an important step on the difficult path to closing the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the White House plans to publicize Tuesday that the government will obtain an underutilized state prison in rural Illinois to be the new home for a inadequate number of terrorist suspects held at Guantanamo. Administration officials as well as Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn will make an official announcement at the White House. Both the White House and Durbin's office confirmed that President Barack Obama had directed the government to acquire Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Ill., a quiet town near the Mississippi River about 150 miles from Chicago. The officials spoke on the condition of secrecy to avoid pre-empting Tuesday's proclamation
