SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois governor who ordered Thomson Correctional Center built said Friday he’s not worried about security if the prison eventually holds Guantanamo Bay detainees.

Former GOP Gov. Jim Edgar approved the prison’s construction in the 1990s. He said he wanted it located in northwestern Illinois because the area doesn’t benefit from as many state jobs as other areas.

But in recent days, some of Edgar’s fellow Republicans have sounded the alarm over Illinois becoming a bigger terrorist target if the state holds the detainees.

The two-term Illinois governor said he understands the concerns, but probably wouldn’t worry about safety too much.

“I can appreciate folks may not want these people in their backyard, but they’ve got to go someplace, it appears,” Edgar said during a visit to the Capitol. “And I’m sure that will be an extremely secure prison. I wouldn’t worry about folks breaking out.

“If the right safety guarantees are there, then I would say that it makes sense just to create some economic opportunity in that part of the state.”

The issue has been controversial since Gov. Pat Quinn announced last weekend that the federal government might be interested in buying the Thomson prison in order to put the detainees there.

Although completed in 2001, the prison has been mostly unused since. On Friday, Quinn spokesman Bob Reed touted Thomson’s sale as a move that would bring jobs to the state.

Edgar endorsed Sen. Kirk Dillard in the Republican primary race for governor, but Dillard this week came out strongly against housing the detainees in Illinois.

“Under a Dillard administration, we will not make our state a potential target if any of these terror suspects stand trial and are convicted in an Illinois courtroom,” Dillard said.