(CNN) -- A proposal to house federal prisoners, including some detainees from Guantanamo Bay, in a largely vacant maximum-security prison would be an economic boost to struggling northern Illinois, state officials said Sunday.



"This is something that is very good for our state, it's good for our economy, it's good for public safety," Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn told reporters.



Officials from the departments of Defense, Justice, Homeland Security and the federal Bureau of Prisons will visit the Thomson Correctional Center on Monday, the officials said. Quinn's office on Saturday said the officials would see whether the "virtually vacant, state-of-the-art facility" in Thomson, about 150 miles west of Chicago, could be of use to the Bureau of Prisons.



If it is, the governor and other officials said Sunday, it could provide up to 2,000 jobs and up to $1 billion in federal money to the area.



And Dick Durbin, the Senate's second-ranking Democrat, said he believes the proposal provides a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" for his state's residents.



"There are other states that want to take these jobs," Sen. Durbin said. "We've got to win this competition."



Under the proposal, he said, federal officials have said fewer than 100 detainees from the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba would be housed in the 1,600-bed facility. They would be in a wing under the control of the Department of Defense, while the Bureau of Prisons would assume responsibility for the rest of the facility.



The United States is asking other countries to house some of the Guantanamo detainees when the prison is closed, said Durbin, the Senate majority whip. But those countries are asking why America is not housing some of the inmates itself, he said, and use of the Thomson facility would demonstrate to them that the United States is willing to shoulder some of the responsibility.



An Obama administration official said Saturday that as part of the conversion at Thomson, the Bureau of Prisons and Defense Department would enhance security to exceed those of the nation's only supermax prison -- the U.S. Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colorado. No person has ever escaped from the prison.



The Thomson proposal, first reported Saturday by the Chicago Tribune, triggered immediate concern from critics. U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Illinois, whose district covers suburban Chicago, circulated a letter addressed to President Obama to Illinois leaders Saturday, opposing the possible transfer of detainees and saying that housing them in Thomson would turn metropolitan Chicago into "ground zero for Jihadist terrorist plots, recruitment and radicalization."



As home to Chicago's Willis (formerly Sears) Tower -- the nation's tallest building -- "we should not invite al Qaeda to make Illinois its number one target," says Kirk, who is running for the same Senate seat once held by Obama.



Durbin on Sunday pointed to the federal maximum-security prison in Marion, Illinois, which he said already houses 35 people convicted of terrorism, along with members of Colombian drug gangs and Mexican drug cartels -- "some of the most dangerous people in America."



"They're all in our prisons, and they're all held safely," he said. And "things haven't changed in Marion, Illinois."



Those housed in the Marion penitentiary include Ali al-Marri, who is serving a sentence of eight years and four months after pleading guilty in federal court to conspiring to provide material support to al Qaeda.



The Thomson prison was built in 2001 and sat empty for five years because the state lacked the resources to open it. Despite being built as a maximum-security facility, it houses 144 minimum-security male inmates, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections Web site.



"After living in limbo for eight years, we're open to any and all alternatives for Thomson," said Jerry "Duke" Hebeler, Thomson village mayor. He estimated that the move would cut the county's unemployment in half.



"I'd never chase jobs if I thought
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Thomson, about 150 miles west of Chicago, U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, Thomson Correctional Center Guantanamo Bay, metropolitan Chicago 150 miles "This is something that is very good for our state, it's good for our economy, it's good for public safety," about 150 miles west house federal prisoners, including some detainees from Guantanamo Bay, to house federal prisoners, including some detainees from Guantanamo Bay, in a largely "This is something that is very good for our state, it's good for our economy, it's good for public safety," Officials from the departments of Defense, Justice, Homeland Security and the federal Bureau of Prisons to house federal prisoners, Monday, "we should not invite al Qaeda to make Illinois its number one target," Officials from the departments of Defense, Justice, Homeland Security and the federal Bureau of Prisons
question: where will the prison be located, answer: Thomson, about 150 miles west of Chicago, | question: Who said that Chicago could become "ground zero" for terror plots?, answer: U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, | question: Where will feds visit?, answer: Thomson Correctional Center | question: Where is the maximum-security prison located?, answer: Guantanamo Bay, | question: where would ground zero be, answer: metropolitan Chicago | question: how far is thomson from chicago, answer: 150 miles | question: What did Illinois governor say?, answer: "This is something that is very good for our state, it's good for our economy, it's good for public safety," | question: Where is Thompson located with respect to Chicago?, answer: about 150 miles west | question: What does proposal call for?, answer: house federal prisoners, including some detainees from Guantanamo Bay, | question: What does the proposal call for?, answer: to house federal prisoners, including some detainees from Guantanamo Bay, in a largely | question: What does the Illinois governor have to say?, answer: "This is something that is very good for our state, it's good for our economy, it's good for public safety," | question: What authorities Thomson visit?, answer: Officials from the departments of Defense, Justice, Homeland Security and the federal Bureau of Prisons | question: What proposal calling for the Illinois jail?, answer: to house federal prisoners, | question: When are federal officals going to visit the faciltiy in Thomson?, answer: Monday, | question: What does Rep. Mark Kirk say?, answer: "we should not invite al Qaeda to make Illinois its number one target," | question: Who plans to visit the facility in Thomson on Monday?, answer: Officials from the departments of Defense, Justice, Homeland Security and the federal Bureau of Prisons