All Republican members of Illinois’ Congressional Delegation have signed the following letter to President Obama:
Dear Mr. President:
According to the Chicago Tribune, your Administration may transfer up to 200 Al Qaeda terrorists from their detention facility in Guantanamo Bay a prison in Thomson, Illinois, 150 miles from Chicago.
If your Administration brings Al Qaeda terrorists to Illinois, our state and the Chicago Metropolitan Area will become ground zero for Jihadist terrorist plots, recruitment and radicalization.
Furthermore, since Thomson is located in the Northern District of Illinois, any civilian prosecution of Al Qaeda terrorists would occur in Rockford or downtown Chicago.
As home to America’s tallest building, we should not invite Al Qaeda to make Illinois its number one target.
The United States spent more than $50 million to build the Guantanamo Bay detention facility to keep terrorists away from U.S. soil. Al Qaeda terrorists should stay where they cannot endanger American citizens.
As elected officials in the State of Illinois, we urge you to put the safety and security of Illinois families first and stop any plan to transfer Al Qaeda terrorists to our state.
Rep. Peter Roskam
Rep. Mark Kirk
Rep. Judy Biggert
Rep. Tim Johnson
Rep. Don Manzullo
Rep. Aaron Schock
Rep. John Shimkus