Hundreds gather for hearing on detainee prison

STERLING -- More than 300 people are attending a hearing on a plan to move alleged terrorism suspects from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to a nearly empty prison in western Illinois.

Gov. Pat Quinn plans to sell the Thomson Correctional Center to the federal government. It would be used to house up to 100 Gitmo detainees and as a federal maximum-security prison.

State lawmakers scheduled a public hearing Tuesday at Sterling High School to give people a chance to talk about the plan.

About 50 protesters gathered outside the red-bricked school building, and many said they fear Illinois could become a terrorist target.

But supporters say economically struggling northwest Illinois needs the thousands of jobs that the prison could generate.