THOMSON, Ill. – The federal prison in Thomson has been designated as one of 11 national “quarantine locations” for inmates newly admitted into the federal prison system, according to Democratic lawmakers who oppose the move.

U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos on Tuesday released a statement questioning a federal decision to designate U.S. Penitentiary Thomson as a quarantine location.

The lawmakers state in the release that they are disturbed that federal prison officials are “preparing to transfer hundreds of additional inmates to USP Thomson without appropriate preventive measures in place, such as testing all inmates to be transferred for COVID-19.”

The release notes that federal officials decided last week to transfer 20 inmates to Thomson from Metropolitan Correction Center Chicago, the site of a confirmed COVID-19 outbreak.