Politico is reporting that the White House has approved a plan to move some of the remaining 215 individuals being held at Guantanamo Bay to an empty facility in Illinois.  Normally there would be fears stoked for political reasons, but the town in which the prison resides is begging very happy to receiving these individuals primarily because the prison is empty and the people there are desperate for jobs.

While the President promised to have Guantanamo closed in a year from when he took office that goal probably won't be reached, however this new development has made the process to close the Cuba based prison much more likely.  The white House is extremely aware of the negative effect the continued operation of Guantanamo has on international cooperation as well as the influencing effect it has on recruiting jihadist fighters around the world, putting American forces and citizens in danger.  An administration spokes person who asked to go unnamed said, "Closing the detention centre at Guantanamo is essential to protecting our national security and helping our troops by removing a deadly recruiting tool from the hands of al Qaeda. Today's announcement is an important step forward as we work to achieve our national security objectives."

Read the whole article here.

UPDATE: Watch the announcement below ---->