Quinn: Thomson prison deal 'probably' will happen

CHICAGO (AP) — Gov. Pat Quinn says a deal to sell a prison in northwestern Illinois to the federal government to house Guantanamo Bay detainees "probably" will happen.

But Quinn acknowledged he doesn't have any inside information about the government's deliberations.

The Thomson Correctional Center is the latest potential candidate the Obama administration is looking at to hold detainees after President Barack Obama promised to close the military-run detention center in Cuba.

Quinn says he can't imagine why the federal government wouldn't want to takeover the prison because it's "as good a prison as you can find in America."

Federal officials visited the facility about 150 miles west of Chicago on Monday.