Federal officials have been tight-lipped about the potential locations for Guantanamo Bay prisoners, but local officials in two of the most prominently mentioned sites say they’ve never heard from the government about the possibility.

Officials in Hardin, Mont., and Florence, Colo., said Tuesday they’ve not been contacted by the Obama administration. In contrast, federal and state officials toured the largely unused, 1,600-cell Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson on Monday, pronouncing it a good candidate.

Over the weekend, top Illinois Democrats said there likely would be a fierce battle among communities to lure the federal government.

But it doesn’t appear officials in Hardin are heavily courting the government.

“We sent a letter to President Obama suggesting it,” said Albert Peterson, vice chairman of the authority that owns the empty 464-bed southeast Montana facility.

Otherwise, the community has not made a proposal, he said.

He also described the facility as “low- to medium-security.” Administration officials have said that if Thomson were to be selected, security at the site would be strengthened to exceed conditions at the country’s only federal Supermax prison in Florence, Colo.

In Colorado, officials say they haven’t heard from the federal government, either.

The prison, which is southwest of Colorado Springs, is pretty much full, too, they said.

“There’s just not a lot of capacity left,” said Bart Hall, who stepped down as mayor this week.

Administration officials have declined to say what sites are under consideration, but they have called Thomson a “leading contender.”

The option that includes Thomson, 50 miles northeast of the Quad Cities, would entail the federal Bureau of Prisons buying the facility, leasing a part to the Defense Department and moving 1,600 federal prisoners into the rest.

A Bureau of Prisons spokesman, Edmond Ross, said Tuesday the agency is looking at the Thomson prison, and he wasn’t aware of any others.

It’s possible a military site could be used, however. A Defense Department official said on Monday that military and civilian sites are being considered.

Federal officials also toured a prison in Standish, Mich., over the summer.

Michael Moran, the city manager there, told the Associated Press on Monday he has no reason to believe the city is out of the running for the Guantanamo Bay prisoners, even though there has been some reticence there to the idea.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said over the weekend he didn’t think the Michigan site would be selected.

Also on Tuesday, the Democratic-controlled Senate thwarted an effort to block spending for upgrading facilities in the United States to house prisoners transferred from Guantanamo, a proposal that Illinois officials feared could have complicated efforts to place detainees at a prison in their state.

The measure was defeated on a mostly party-line vote of 57-43.