Proposal calls for using maximum-security prison in struggling northern Illinois . The proposal would also allow the state to use private prisons if it can show that they are less expensive than public prisons. `` It 's good for our economy , it 's good for public safety , '' Illinois governor says . Durbin on Sunday pointed to the federal maximum-security prison in Marion , Illinois , which he said already houses 35 people convicted of terrorism , along with members of Colombian drug gangs and Mexican drug cartels -- `` some of the most dangerous people in America . '' But Rep. Mark Kirk says plan could make Chicago `` ground zero '' for terror plots , recruitment .
Proposal calls for using maximum-security prison in struggling northern Illinois . The proposal would also allow the state to use private prisons if it can show that they are less expensive than public prisons. `` It 's good for our economy , it 's good for public safety , '' Illinois governor says . But Rep. Mark Kirk says plan could make Chicago `` ground zero '' for terror plots , recruitment .