CHICAGO (MCT) — Under orders from President Barack Obama, the U.S. Justice Department moved forward Tuesday with the purchase of Illinois’ long dormant Thomson prison, cutting a $165 million check to the cash-strapped state and bypassing the objections of a powerful veteran Republican U.S. House member who had blocked the sale.

“At this point, the president had to intervene and do this directly. I hope people understand he’s doing it for his state,” said U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, the state’s senior senator and No. 2 Democrat in the chamber. Durbin acknowledged it was a “rare” move to bypass the written approval of a high-ranking House Appropriations Committee member to proceed with the purchase of the northwestern Illinois facility.