Let's see, New York City has second thoughts about trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 terror attacks, but it's OK to house similar terrorists in an Illinois prison. Guess the squeaky wheel got the grease this time around from the Obama administration.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg decided it would cost $200 million in extra security, tie up traffic, interfere with Big Apple commerce and depress real estate values during the duration of the trial. The Hound is just guessing here, but didn't Attorney General Eric Holder take all that into consideration when he said Sheikh Mohammed would be tried in a civilian court, rather than Guantanamo Bay, Cuba? Maybe that Massachusetts senatorial vote caused an Obamian flip-flop?
In the meantime, Illinois appears ripe to house terrorists from Gitmo. President Obama is including in his $3.8 trillion fiscal 2011 federal budget proposal $237 million to buy and upgrade the nearly vacant Thomson Correctional Center in northwest Illinois to house Gitmo detainees. The State of Illinois and the federal government are currently dickering over the purchase price of Thomson.
Maybe Illinoisans should start to squeak, just like the New Yawkers did.