Bill Cameron sits down with House of Representatives member Jim Durkin. They discuss the recent budget issues, as well as other debt issues. They also discuss Chicago Public Schools and school reform. Durkin touches on tax reform, the sweetened beverage tax, and other revenue issues. They also talk about Rauner and Madigan, and the continued issues with education in Illinois.
In this week’s round table discussion, Bill Cameron is joined by Ray Long of the Chicago Tribune, Natasha Korecki of Politico, and Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun Times. Topics include Chicago Public Schools, Jim Durkin, and sanctuary cities. They also discuss Rauner and Madigan, as well as the ongoing situation in Texas.
This week’s community spotlight segment this week is about the new immigration bill signed by Gov. Rauner. Governor Bruce Rauner signed a law Monday designed to protect Illinois’ half-million undocumented immigrants from deportation, drawing criticism from the administration of a fellow Republican: President Donald Trump.
The bill, dubbed the TRUST Act, restricts local law enforcement from collaborating with federal immigration agents to detain anyone unless the feds have a warrant.
Activists working with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights praised the legislation as a shield for undocumented residents who could otherwise face deportation through any simple interaction with police, including traffic violations.
But Trump’s administration, namely the Justice Department headed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, came out swinging against the new law.
“As the Attorney General has said, when cities and states refuse to help enforce immigration laws, our nation is less safe,” DOJ spokesman Devin O’Malley told Fox News. “Failure to deport aliens who are convicted for criminal offenses puts whole communities at risk — especially immigrant communities in the very sanctuary jurisdictions that seek to protect the perpetrators.”
The Trump administration’s anti-immigration rights stance didn’t faze Rauner a bit when he signed the TRUST Act amid cheers at a crowded restaurant in the Little Village neighborhood after greeting the crowd in Spanish with a hearty: “Buenos dias.”
Also Monday, Rauner signed a law that will establish a system in Illinois to automatically register eligible voters whenever they apply for, update, or renew a driver’s license or state ID.
The bill, which received wife bipartisan support, will put in place the farthest-reaching automatic voter registration law in the country. Illinois will be the 10th state, and first in the Midwest, to enact automatic voter registration.
