BLITZER: Ever since the news hit that federal officials were considering housing detainees from Guantanamo Bay in the almost empty Thomson Correctional Center in Illinois, the reaction has been intense and a lot of it has been negative.

But, Dick Durbin, the senior senator from Illinois, thinks it's a very good idea. He's here, the majority whip, to answer some of our questions.

And Gloria Borger and Candy Crowley are here to pick up some of the question as well.

But I will start. Why do you think this is a good idea?

SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: There are 340 convicted terrorists currently being held in prison across America, 35 in the state of Illinois, including al Qaeda-connected terrorists. They're being held securely and safely.

They're not escaping. No one escapes from a supermax prison. We can detain these prisoners at Thomson, Illinois. We can create jobs we desperately need in my state, and we can expand this prison for others from the Bureau of Prisons.

BLITZER: Listen to this Republican congressman from Illinois, Don Manzullo. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DON MANZULLO (R), ILLINOIS: Gitmo is not being closed. It's being moved. to northwest Illinois. And the terrorism threats to Gitmo and the people who have become terrorists because of Gitmo, that hatred and animosity will also transfer to northwest Illinois, thereby making this area of the country and the entire country a magnet for terrorists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, what do you say to the congressman?

DURBIN: I like Don, but I disagree with him.

Let's be honest. We convicted an al Qaeda terrorist who was in Peoria, Illinois, and discovered after 9/11. He went through time in the Navy brig, convicted, now incarcerated at the Marion Federal Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois, without a ripple in the community.

I'm afraid the critics are overstating the obvious. We know now, working with the Department of Homeland Security, there is no threat to the people living in this area. In fact, it will be the safest, most secure federal prison in America.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Can I change the subject just for a minute to health care, which is, of course, the big issue facing you in the Senate?

And the Obama administration and presumably Senate Democrats have been promising transparency. Yet, this health care bill seems to be being written behind closed doors, as we speak, in the Senate, very shortly before it's going to go to the floor. How do you explain that?

DURBIN: It's not being written behind closed doors as much as being read behind closed doors by the Congressional Budget Office that has to go through it line by line to make sure we meet President Obama's requirement not to add to the federal deficit. It has literally taken them four weeks. We are hoping, any minute, any hour, any day to receive their final report. The bill before it is voted on the floor in any form is going to be on the Internet for the world to read in detail. So, there will be nothing that is opaque about this.

BORGER: Well, are they reporting to you, as leaders in the Senate, saying, well, it's over in this area, and then you cut? Is that what's going on?

DURBIN: Yes. Yes. Right now, there is a final negotiation to hit the numbers. We can't add to the deficit. The president has said that. That's our standard that we're living by. But this is technical. It's complex. But it's going to be done.

BORGER: But it's not open. But it's not open.

DURBIN: Well, it's going to be as open as it could possibly...

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: It was all supposed to be on C-SPAN, wasn't it?

DURBIN: Well, it's ultimately all going to be on the Internet for people to read. My guess is, they are going to be able to spend all Thanksgiving Day ignoring television and turkeys and reading this bill, which is not a turkey.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Let's talk about how you are going to pay for it, because that's part of this equation how. We have heard, of course, about the Cadillac plans. This was in one of the bills. We have also heard now that Senator Reid is looking at the idea of anyone making over $250,000 in their payroll taxes on Medicare.

How else are you going to pay for had bill, or are those two sufficient?

DURBIN: I hope you will forgive me, but I'm not going on discuss the details until it's reported to the Senate. I think we owe it to our members, the caucus, and the American public to have our package presented to the floor.

I sincerely hope the Republicans will have their health care reform bill on the Internet, transparent, for the world to see during the same period of time before we return after Thanksgiving.

CROWLEY: But would those two be sufficient for what you're trying to pay for?

DURBIN: It depends on what you're trying to achieve and how much it is going to cost. And the CBO, Congressional Budget Office, is giving us those numbers right now.

BLITZER: Mary Landrieu, the Democratic senator from Louisiana, Blanche Lincoln, the Democratic Senate from Arkansas, Ben Nelson, the Democratic senator from Nebraska, Joe Lieberman, the independent Democrat, as he likes to call himself, they all have serious problems.

Do you have 60 votes that can break a Republican-led filibuster?

DURBIN: What we're trying to do is bring the bill to the floor, and then start trying to put together...

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: But you can't bring it to the floor unless you have 60 votes.

DURBIN: Well, there's a procedural vote that just says, OK, we will start the debate. And that I think we have 60 votes to reach. I hope we do.

BLITZER: Are you sure?

(CROSSTALK)

DURBIN: Well, there are certain things that happen among the Senate Democratic Caucus member, some personal and family things, which may interrupt someone's attendance on a given day. That's a fact.

But I believe, if we have full attendance, that we will have the 60 votes to begin the debate. In terms of moving the bill forward, that's when the delicate negotiations begin. And wouldn't it be great to have a senator from the other side of the aisle to join us in that effort?

BLITZER: We have got to leave it there. And we will see what happens.

But when is this debate going to begin? Do you know?

DURBIN: It could start this week at least to proceed to the bill, then perhaps have the bill posted for the world to see over the Thanksgiving recess.

BORGER: And health care this year?

DURBIN: It has to be done in the Senate this year.

BLITZER: In the Senate. Then they will go to conference. And then there will be -- we will see.

So, a signing ceremony, will that happen, assuming it passes, before the president's State of the Union address?

DURBIN: I want it to, but I wouldn't predict that. Being the whip and counting the votes, in the Senate, you never know from day to day or week to week exactly when things are going to finish.

And on the other side of the aisle, the Republicans will continue to do everything they can to delay and stop us.

BLITZER: We will see what happens.

Thanks very much for coming in, Dick Durbin...

DURBIN: Good to be with you.

BLITZER: ... the number-two Democrat in the U.S. Senate.