SPRINGFIELD - Gov. Pat Quinn says he has the final word on whether to sell the long-dormant Thomson Correctional Center to the federal government.

But, under state law, a special panel of state lawmakers is given the responsibility of reviewing certain facilities that a governor wants to close.

Republicans say they need that opportunity, especially since the maximum-security lock-up could become home to terrorist detainees from Guantanamo Bay.

"It would be irresponsible for a governor to move forward on something of this magnitude. without having a debate on it," House Minority Leader Tom Cross said Monday.

"What if he says tomorrow that he's going to sell Lincoln's Tomb?" said Cross, R-Oswego.

In an appearance in Chicago on Monday, Quinn said he alone controls the fate of the prison, which was completed in 2001 for a cost of about $145 million, but never fully opened.

"The sale is completely in the province of the governor's office," Quinn told reporters.

In the meantime, an Iowa congressman said Thomson is "at the top of the list" of facilities being considered to house detainees now being held at Guantanamo .

U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, spoke Monday after being briefed by federal officials. Officials from the Defense Department and the federal Bureau of Prisons toured the nearly vacant prison Monday and also met with dozens of people from the surrounding area, including local lawmakers, business people and others.

Braley, who represents Iowa's 1st District, said he wanted to be briefed personally because Clinton and Jackson counties are directly across the Mississippi River from Thomson. He hasn't said whether he supports the prospect but said he was more comfortable with the idea after being briefed.

Federal and state officials who met with reporters after the tour and the briefings repeatedly said the process is in the early stages and that there are other potential locations for the detainees, both civilian and military. Braley said the same, but afterward, he added that federal officials said "this was at the top of their list of several facilities they're evaluating."

The administration has said only that it's a leading contender.

After the tour, federal officials said they were impressed by Thomson.

"This is a fine, fine facility of a high-security nature," said Harley Lappin, director of the federal Bureau of Prisons.

Officials didn't give an idea when a decision might be made, but there would be a significant military presence if it happens.

Phil Carter, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee policy, said 1,000 to 1,500 military and civilian Department of Defense employees would be part of the operation, with most of them being uniformed military.

Lappin added 800 to 900 people would run the federal prison, with 250 to 300 to be brought in to get the prison started. He said that people locally who had been hired by the state to work at Thomson but have been sent elsewhere would have to compete for the jobs but that he expected they would be "very, very competitive."

He said 400 to 500 of the Bureau of Prison employees would be "new hires." There would be 1,600 federal prisoners at the new facility.

The number of military detainees has not been made clear, but U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has said it's less than 100.

However, critics of the plan say the economic benefits have been oversold and far fewer jobs would open up to locals. Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., said Illinois Democrats have misled the public.

"Preying on economic uncertainty to advance a plan that undermines our national security is indefensible," Kirk said.

"He (Quinn) doesn't have the authority to do it," said state Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, who is also a candidate for governor.

Brady is a member of the legislature's Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, which is charged with holding hearings when governors want to close any state facility employing more than 25 workers.

The minimum-security wing of Thomson, the only part that is operating, has about 80 employees.

Another member of the commission, state Sen. Matt Murphy of Palatine, said he's not opposed to leasing out the prison for the federal government to house domestic prisoners. But he said using it for Guantanamo Bay detainees could put Illinois in the terrorism spotlight.

"I don't know why we'd want to make the target on us any bigger," said Murphy, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor.

Dan Long, executive director of the commission, said its not yet clear how the process for Thomson will unfold.

"It depends on what they plan to do with it," Long said Monday. "I think we're in limbo."

Steve Brown, a spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, said Illinois must first wait for the federal government to make an offer before deciding on what role the General Assembly will play.

"I don't think we know if there will be a proposal and what that proposal will be," Brown said.

State Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, whose district includes the prison, backs Quinn's plan.

"I don't care who wants to fill it. Fill it," he said.

Jacobs said he doesn't think the governor needs legislative permission to sell the prison to the federal government. "It's surplus property," he said.

kurt.erickson@lee.net|789-0865

Ed Tibbetts of the Quad-City Times contributed to this report.