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Subscribe to RSSIllinois may soon become the most populous U.S. state to grant a form of driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, after the nation's growing Hispanic population boosted the power of Democrats in national and state elections on November 6.
A bipartisan group of Illinois politicians announced on Tuesday they would propose such a law when the legislature convenes on November 27.
Washington state and New Mexico are the only states that currently allow illegal immigrants to get licenses. Utah allows driving permits. As the fifth most populous state, Illinois would be the biggest state to adopt such a law.
A California law that allows immigrants with federal work permits to receive driver's licenses will take effect January 1, 2013.
Supporters said the law would be good for public safety, allowing Illinois immigrant motorists to get tested on their driving skills and buy insurance.
"When you have a quarter of a million undocumented drivers on the road, it's definitely a safety concern," said Ron Holmes, spokesman for Illinois Senate President John Cullerton, who is backing the measure along with fellow Democrats Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar, a popular Republican, joined Democrats at a news conference in Chicago Tuesday to support the idea, as did Republican State Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka. It also has the support of the powerful House Speaker, Chicago Democrat Michael Madigan, giving it a good chance of passage.
The drive to pass the law follows the re-election of Democratic President Barack Obama, Democratic gains in the U.S. Senate and in the Illinois legislature with strong Hispanic support.
Since 2010, a handful of Republican-led states, notably border state Arizona, passed laws cracking down on illegal immigrants. But after this year's election, which saw an estimated 66 percent of Hispanics vote for Obama, Democrats and Republicans have said they want to work on an overhaul of federal immigration law.
Illinois, like California, elected a veto-proof Democratic supermajority in the legislature this month, with Democrats now controlling all branches of government.
Unlicensed, uninsured drivers are involved in almost 80,000 accidents in Illinois each year, resulting in $660 million in damage, according to the Illinois Highway Safety Coalition. Unlicensed immigrant drivers cost $64 million in damage claims alone.
The Safety Coalition said on its website that since New Mexico made the change in 2003, the rate of uninsured motorists fell from 33 percent to under 9 percent.
New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, a Republican, has fought to outlaw such licenses since she took office in January 2011. She has argued that the state's law encouraged people to come to New Mexico from other states just to obtain driver's licenses.
Holmes said supporters of the Illinois measure are talking with law enforcement officials to make sure a license for undocumented immigrants would not be used for fraud.
The measure would expand to undocumented immigrants Illinois' existing temporary visitor driver's license, used by legal immigrants. The licenses are "visually distinct" from ordinary licenses, with a purple background and the words "not valid for identification" on the front, explained Lawrence Benito, chief executive of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
"This is a practical, commonsense approach," said Benito. He said supporters have been talking with Republicans in the legislature to try to get their support.
According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the number of Latinos in Illinois was over 2 million, or nearly 16 percent of the population.
Republicans in Illinois who have objected to the proposed law in the past could not be reached for comment.
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So, basically, IL supports illegal immigrants in our country- unconstitutional
Disgusting :(.... What part of "ILLEGAL" don't you jacka$$es understand?
Look at the first paragraph...Illegal Aliens, drivers licenses, voting...all legal now. I will make sure I pass this news all around so any illegals in my community will move to ill. Why not just let everyone print a DL off of the internet?
I think they should provide them with a pink colored C.C.W..
Why would people who have no problem breaking our immigration laws suddenly feel the need to get drivers licenses and buy insurance? What's next, expecting that they will stop crowding our emergency rooms and voluntarily pay for medical care?
We are so screwed. It is unfathomable as to why people who are here illegally get the same benefits as a citizen. 47% of the citizens don't pay taxes plus the illegals who don't pay taxes & you wonder why we have resentment, class warfare & a massive federal debt.
Reform our absurd tax system. EVERYONE MUST PAY. EVERYONE MUST HAVE A VESTED INTEREST. All citizens except perhaps those below the poverty line must pay something so the next generation doesn't feel like they are entitled to every damn thing.
Do you know that in Staten Island there were people not affected by the storm going down to the ravaged areas to get some free food & clothes & stuff???!! I bet it wasn't anyone who pay their fair share of taxes. I bet it was those 47%'ers who feel entitled to anything free & feel "victimized" by the government & everyone else.
People suck & the government who cater to these sucky people suck. Welcome to Venezuela. Our next president will be Hugo Chavez. Anyone who knows anything knows what I'm talking about.
This is what voters voted for in our latest election. This is what the majority has brought us to.
ProFreedom... I also wondered how many illegals voted, especially for You Know Who LOL Too many voting facilities never ask for proof of citizenship, even when the voter cannot speak English (a requirement btw of Naturalization... which is legitimate citizenship by those who have arrived from alien corn).
ill just bet that the insurance company's came up with this idea, whan does the revolution start,
Just adding more economic burden on the American people. Does the constitution of out country mean anything anymore?
seriously?? to the ones who say give it to them because then they'll get insurance, really? when they go to get the license wouldn't those workers have the obligation to call the police? aren't these people fugitives? good grief america wake up send the illegals back and welcome those who come to our country and abide by our laws, hey Illinois not that hard to grasp!! if you know they are here then DEPORT them
No, entry violations are a civil offense not a criminal offense. It carries a penalty about the same as J-walking.
Wow, and all the while the courts were feeding everyone the crap that "driving is a privilege?" Well, now we know it is a "right", that is, if you are an illegal of course.
I guess the only privilege or right the citizens of this country have left that the illegals don't have, is the right and privilege to pay for all the freebees these boarder rats get once they set foot on our soil. Makes me puke that I am made to help support them, especially when they have the nerve to gather and protest that they're not getting enough!
We also have the right to vote. Only US Citizens have that right.
Obamalands New Capital
In 50 years there won't be any laws on the books that we have to follow
We'll still have to follow them, it's just the illegals who won't have to. Very sad indeed.
@Bill-765872: Over 51 percent of all babies born in the US today are of Mexican descent. In 50 years there won't be a caucasian born in the US and the US will be a suburb of Mexico. The Mayor of LA (Antonio Villaraigosa) is due to run and (will) replace "BO" in 2016, he will win the same way "BO" won, by voters of the same race and not because he possesses the skills necessary to run the US; and he's counting on those mexican voters too! So hang on, it's only going to get worse!
One more reason why Mexicans and blacks will keep voting for dems. Free stuff. Romney is right. Nothing but votes bought and paid for by taxpayers to keep dems in power.
Lucky for the dems, this voting block is too stupid to realize they are being kept as a permanent underclass by being given incentives to stay dependant on big government.
What a sad state our country is in.
Apparently the Republic of Massachusetts does as well because Barack Obama's illegal alien drunken driving uncle Onyango was able to get his "license" and privileges to drive restored to him, so he could go to work at the liquor store. Amerika bin berry berry good to me - illegal - outstanding deportation orders - license- work
Awesome!!! I love seeing the wing nutz rant and troll with stories like this!!!! Here's an idea, if the confederate states didn't pass those stupid and unenforceable deportation laws then the farmers down south would't have lost much of their harvest this year so the costs of food and dairy would not have gone up so much and states like Illinois would not have been flooded with lots of low-income workers.
I like that costs are low when I go out or buy food thanks to the hard-working migrants that this nation is blessed with.
So what are all you wing-nutz doing in your mom's basement besides trolling? These "illegals" do more work in a day than most of you conservatives would do in your life.
Yeah, and we love seeing liberals show their disdain for the laws of the US.
And their childish comments.
Liberals are going to be the downfall of America.
IF you can get an ILLEGAL to come in and fill out an application, why BY LAW don't you have a bus ready there to take them "home"?
WTF do we even have laws anymore?
Well, this is the state where a county just passed a tax on guns to help curb gang violence. Because as we all know, criminals follow the law....oh wait, they don't - that's why they're criminals! Why is that so hard for some people to understand?
Do you really think an illegal immigrant would buy insurance? Let's get real here.
Democrats gearing up for 2016, drivers will be able to vote too,wait and see
You can not vote unless you are an American citizen. This will never change. Legal immigrants can not vote. You can only use your DL to vote if you are a registered voter. They use it to look you up not to register you. You have to be registered long before the election.
haha...it's funny how many people didn't even bother to read the article before posting. Dontcha get it? They're using inappropriate wording to get you riled up. LOL
NO, NO, NO. The idea that this will test the driving skills of the illegal aliens and allow them to get auto insurance is a MYTH!!!! New Mexico swallowed that line of reasoning in 2008. Our insurance rates are the highest in the area, due to the fact the illegal aliens don't bother to pay for more than one month of insurance. Our safety, due to the bad driving habits of illegal aliens, HAS NOT GONE UP! Ask anyone here in Albuquerque, if they have been involved in an accident and it will turn out that 75% or more have been caused by illegal aliens. When you check their insurance, it turns out it has been dropped and the address given is incorrect or just plain fictitious. This is a BAD PLAN, BAD REASONING!
By the way, the Safety Coalition is just plain wrong. Our "uninsured" motorists numbers hover around 25%. They are basing their numbers off of registered vehicles. Most illegal aliens don't bother to register their vehicles, and the police don't put ticketing for registration as a high priority. They won't check unless you are stopped for something else.
This is plain stupid
Hopefully Obama can put together some kind of new immigration policy during this term, that solves the problem once and for all. Fixing the broken immigration system, will solve a lot of problems, and save a fortune.
It is the broken immigration system that has caused the problem to start with. People literally cant do it legally. So they choose illegal. Fix the system and the problem will fix itself.
Better to have them licensed, than driving around illegally.
MILLIONS of people have immigrated to the U.S. with the laws that are in place NOW. It's not impossible, just slow.
The concept of 'illegal' is valid ONLY when the 'Powers of Justice' want it to be.
Look down the road in this country................the floodgates of 'illegal immigration' will slowly, but definitely explode wide open in the near future. One state at a time. This country will never be the way most of us remember it. Sad.