A once-abandoned Illinois prison in Thomson, in northwestern Illinois, is on track to house hundreds of federal inmates.
Illinois spent millions to build a then state-of-the-art correctional center in 2001; but budget cuts meant it never actually opened.
More than a decade later, the federal government bought it.
Some 90 minimum security inmates arrived this summer; more are expected.
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat, says that's the latest information he's received, following a meeting with the head of the US. prisons bureau.
Durbin says nearly 250 people have been hired to work at the correctional center, but when it's fully operational, that number will rise to 1,100.
The news comes as Congress is fighting about a budget; Durbin says he'll work to make certain that funding for Thomson is included the next funding bill.
