Full Text of HR1053 99th General Assembly
HR1053 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The federal government has expressed the intent to | 3 | | close Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and relocate some of the 91 | 4 | | detainees remaining in the prison to top-security locations on | 5 | | American soil; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, | 7 | | Illinois was purchased by the Federal Bureau of Prisons in | 8 | | October of 2012 and is one of the top-security locations being | 9 | | considered for relocating the detainees; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, The United States Department of Justice has voiced | 11 | | opposition to using the Thomson Correctional Center as a | 12 | | federal prison for Guantanamo Bay detainees because the Justice | 13 | | Department made a public commitment in 2012, after purchasing | 14 | | the facility, that it would not relocate detainees to the | 15 | | correctional center; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Then United States Attorney General, Eric H. | 17 | | Holder, Jr., pledged to the United States Senate Judiciary | 18 | | Committee in 2012 not to move detainees from Guantanamo Bay | 19 | | "regardless of the state of the law"; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, According to a senior administration official of | 21 | | the Justice Department, federal funding for the Thomson |
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| 1 | | Correctional Center was approved based on the understanding | 2 | | that no Guantanamo Bay detainees would be transferred to the | 3 | | center; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, These detainees are unlawful enemy combatants and | 5 | | should be detained in a purpose-built facility constructed for | 6 | | the specialized duty of confining such criminals under | 7 | | extraordinary conditions of high security, including: (a) the | 8 | | maintenance of a sufficiently secured perimeter around the | 9 | | facility, and (b) specially trained and specialized security | 10 | | guards who are members of the United States Armed Forces or be | 11 | | persons who have undergone equivalent training to members of | 12 | | the United States Armed Forces; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The Thomson Correctional Center does not meet the | 14 | | standards for housing unlawful enemy combatants for an | 15 | | indefinite amount of time, especially not for those who have | 16 | | committed some of the most heinous crimes and are considered | 17 | | public threats such as these detainees; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Housing these detainees in the State of Illinois | 19 | | may cause unrest in the community and pose a risk to the | 20 | | citizens of Illinois; therefore, be it
| 21 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 22 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we |
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| 1 | | state the belief that the Thomson Correctional Center, located | 2 | | in the thickly-populated rural section of northwest Illinois | 3 | | near the Mississippi River, is not a suitable location for the | 4 | | indefinite detention of some 91 unlawful enemy combatants from | 5 | | Guantanamo Bay; and be it further
| 6 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the federal government to remember | 7 | | the pledge set forth by United States Attorney General Eric H. | 8 | | Holder, Jr. that the Thomson Correctional Center would not be | 9 | | used to detain prisoners from Guantanamo Bay; and be it further | 10 | | RESOLVED, That we urge President Barack Obama and his | 11 | | administration, in the weightiest terms, to reconsider the | 12 | | decision to close the facilities on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on | 13 | | the grounds that such location is by far the safest and best | 14 | | suited location for the indefinite detention of unlawful enemy | 15 | | combatants; and be it further | 16 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 17 | | delivered to the President of the United States, the members of | 18 | | the Illinois congressional delegation, and the Governor of | 19 | | Illinois.
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