Several inmates from US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay are to be transferred to an Illinois prison, the White House is expected to announce.
The Officials are due to confirm that Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Illinois will be acquired by the federal government, US media report.
It will house about 100 Guantanamo detainees suspected of terror offences, reports say.
President Barack Obama has pledged to close Cuba-based camp.
However, with officials still trying to work out what to do with about 215 inmates still at the camp, he admitted in November that a 22 January deadline had slipped to later in 2010.
The near-empty Thomson prison, about 150 miles (240km) from Chicago, was promoted as an alternative by Illinois Senator Richard Durbin.
Sen Durbin and Illinois Governor Pat Quinn are expected to be briefed by White House officials about the announcement on Tuesday, the Associated Press news agency reported.
The Thomson prison, built in 2001, has the capacity for 1,600 inmates, but due to budget constraints only houses 200 prisoners.
It would be sold to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and then part of it leased to the Department of Defense, reports say.
Federal prisoners would be held at the facility, as well as the former Guantanamo inmates, officials said.
"Closing the detention centre at Guantanamo is essential to protecting our national security and helping our troops by removing a deadly recruiting tool from the hands of al-Qaeda," a US official said in a statement.
"[Tuesday's] announcement is an important step forward as we work to achieve our national security objectives."
Of the remaining Guantanamo inmates, some are expected to be sent to other countries, while others could face military tribunals or be tried in US courts.
Prisons in Colorado, Montana and elsewhere in Illinois had expressed an interest in housing Guantanamo inmates.
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