The Obama administration is taking a major step toward closing Cuba's Guantanamo Bay prison.

The White House is expected to announce Tuesday that the federal government will assume control of the Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Ill.

Authorities will then move a limited number of the inmates from Cuba to the under-used maximum security prison located about 150 miles west of Chicago.

Although the move could bring jobs to the small, struggling town, residents aren't sure they want it.

"I have mixed feelings," Thomson resident Bill Heid said. "This is economically wonderful, but you can't reduce everything to an economic decision. You have to weigh carefully and do a dialogue about the reality of those possibilities."

The prison has about 1,600 cells and will also house other federal inmates. The president explained he wants terror suspects on U.S. soil, so they will stand trial for their alleged crimes.