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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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we need to fire dickey dick durbin,this idiot has been in office long enough,everything about this guy just stinks he is a big joke.
our country is overpopulated already pretty soon well be like china were familys will only be able to have one kid us americans wont even be able to have a anchor baby, becase of the illegal filth coming in this country gobbling up all our resources and money.
This is great news !!! I hope the next step in the "Quest for fairness to all" is they give illegal aliens in Illinois the right to work as Union employees for half the normal union wages and benefits. This could be especially helpful in balancing the budget In Illinois. This is a huge step for us all in sharing the wealth. They defintely should take this a step further and allow them to get union cards too. It will be great to see Paco, Juan and Julio driving around in that big state truck plowing and salting this winter !!!!
Let's give a big round of applause to the democrats. This is a much better plan and shows their ability to think out of the box. Instead of sending 50,000 jobs to Mexico... They bring 50,000 Mexicans to the US to do the jobs.
BRILLIANT !!!!!!!
Living in So. Ca. I agree with this proposal. Until you face the stupid grin of a "proud" no hablo inglés after they smashed in your front end, you can't talk. They don't have the money to fix your car. And the courts won't make them.
They have to be TRACKED AND INSURED! They will be crawling around on our streets no matter what, so FORCE THEM TO BUY CAR INSURANCE!!!! Get computerized. The second one of them cancels for a refund, send out the cops.
" this is good for public safety" so all those illegals that bother to try to get a license, and fail will stop driving....DAH. this will change only one thing, the money the states get for the fees to get a license and the the insurance companies. To try and say that the cost of accidents (millions of $) will go away because they have a license is insane, this cost is paid today by an insurance company just not the illegals. Try doing anything remotely like this an another country and see how far you get.....
Why, sure that's the thing to do... Give illegals a license so they can drive to jobs and take them from tax paying Americans as they are willing to work for beans...
Idiot politicians.....
Why not??!! In Illinois they probably already vote!!
When you get rammed and they have no insurance or job you'll see what your thieving insurance monkeys are about. You pay!
Are Republicans against this. I'm shocked.
This Dem is against this!!!
This is just one more reason this country is quickly going to hell in a handbasket. Might as well tear down the fence that doesn't do much good anyway and make Mexico the 52nd state. And then I believe I will move to enjoy my retirement in Costa Rica or some ex-pat-friendly country. Of course, I will then demand a citizen driver's license, free health insurance and throw in a food-card for good measure. Of course that won't happen because no other country in the world is as fk'd up as this country has become when dealing with immigrants.
Come one come all, you illegal immigrants and get your license.....and a one way trip back to Mexico the moment you admit you're an illegal immigrant. Works for me.
Of course that won't happen if they let all the companies that hire them for $1.95 an hour be the application offices for the licenses.
This is yet another example of the unrelenting attack that has all but undermined any value that US citizenship once possessed.
How about holding the sovereign countries responsible for these people to account for their presence.
Sooooo... If everyone started robbing all the banks in that state: Would 'they' just give-in and make it LEGAL? What a bunch of spineless phuque's!! Come on CITIZENS, put an end to this crap!!!
@Bigtrouble - nobody cut me any slack- nor should they have! I came here legally, it took time, money, and effort to become a citizen, why do you think the rules should apply to some and not to others???
If that's the case lets start cutting some slack for everyone breaking the law- you do understand the concept of illegal right?
ID-10-T
Land O' Loonie-Toons: Only the BEST outta Illinois! From Obammy boy takin' care o' 'da 'bro's, Part-time political folk with crybaby mental 'Issues' and NOW; Undocumented Drivers transporting 'Kin-Folk' with drugs!! You 'Citizens' in that state better getta handle on your crap: It's setting a BAD example for the rest of the country!!! What ARE you doing: Havin' a contest with California?????
Another great move for Illinois, just like when Illinois let all the migrants that wanted to be truck drivers even tho they couldn't read or write English get drivers licenses and then they would go kill people with there trucks from accidents or when Quinn let a lot of non violent criminals out of jail because the State couldn't afford to run the jails and these released criminals went out and recommitted crimes again. Where are the heads on these politicians. Oh I know - up there bttts
If I lived in Illinois, I'd be looking up impeachment laws/rules for the state legislature.....Then I'd try to get a grass roots following to have the Dems impeached.....
I think the escalating 'Pedro-Problem' this country is going through is getting close to only one solution: Bus most of them south and make them PROVE thier way back IN!
Re-electing Obama has really opened Pandora's box as you can see.
Sure didn't take long to me to launch my very first...
I TOLD YOU SO.
Sure, blame Obama for this, but had Romney won the election, you can bet there would have been pandering and special favors shown to OTHER groups too. BOTH parties do it, you can't deny it, and average Americans get screwed, one way or another.
Why stop at driver's licenses, just give them full ammnesty and citizenship along with government cheese and Obamacare. Also include full immunity from crimes and laws including a special political seat to represent the Hispanic community......................
Anything to pander for votes as our politically intimidated politicians are afraid of their owns shadows, pretty scary huh?
Deval Patrick, the Governor of Massachusetts, has ordered that illegal aliens (er, "immigrants") in our state be allowed to attend state colleges, paying just HALF of the tuition that legal residents have to pay. He wants to give them driver's licenses too. I oppose this - and I'm a Democrat by the way. Nuttiness isn't specific to the extreme Republican right.
Deporting illegal immigrants is the Feds' job, and since they aren't going to do it anytime soon, it makes sense for states to give these immigrants driver's licenses in hopes that at least some of them will get insurance.
the most corrupt and ignorant state in the union.
Why aren't they arrested on sight. They are illegal.
Is anyone really surprised by this? Illinois is a very liberal state. Hell,it was the temporary home of America's illegal (Kenyan born)Fuhrer Barack Obozo. I agree ALL illegals should be deported. If they try to come back in to our country,they should be shot on sight.
antipacker,
Your GOP FAUX rage is apparent to all of us here on this vine.
Your guy lost...by a lot. Get over it, and your xenophobic sociopathic ways.