Governor Chet Culver is not taking an immediate stance on a proposal to move terror detainees from Guantanamo Bay to a prison in Illinois that is 12 miles across the river from Clinton. Culver says the key is to get citizen input, so he says he’s asked the federal government to do all that it can to get that input from the citizens of Clinton and Jackson County.
Culver says he will be a part of that review. The governor says he’s also talked with fellow Democrat, Congressman Bruce Braley of Waterloo, about the situation. Culver says Braley also wants to get as much citizen input as possible on the idea.”We also understand that during these tough economic times jobs are critically important. And so it’s really up to the local leadership, the residents in eastern Iowa there that could benefit from this prison to weigh in on the decision and to decide for themselves whether it will be an overall benefit or not,” Culver says.
Congressman Braley says the move could have a “substantial economic impact” on Clinton. Iowa’s two Republican congressman, Steve King and Tom Latham have spoken out against the proposal. Latham is introducing legislation to try and block the move of the Guantanamo Bay detainees.