We no longer have a Republican party in Illinois..We only have Liberals in Republican clothing. We need new leadership to stop illegal immigration because i am sick and tired of paying for it.

I AGREE AND I HAPPEN TO BE HISPANIC...25 BILLIONS IN FREE SERVICES TO THE ILLEGALS EVERY YEAR ?

Were done! Unreal!

I'm a conservative. I only now donate to the individual and no longer to the "republican" party or GOP. Illinois has sunk deeper and deeper into debt and keeps raising taxes higher and higher. If I could leave this state I would. Right now I'm stuck for just a few more years. I'll keep praying in the meantime, for better leaders, more jobs (not government ones) to open for thousands and lower taxes for everyone.

The day of reckoning will come when Illinois' unsustainable level of government hand-outs, taxing, spending, deficits and corruption bankrupts the state. As depressing as corrupt Democratic machine politicians are, it's more depressing that the worthless lemmings who vote in Illinois put the same scum back in power year after year regardless of the job they do.

I agree I have been working the last year slowly moving the majority of my company out of "ILLANOYING" same as every one else. We are 3 billion in debt ties with California and they have a much larger population than ours so what does that tell you? We are the worst state ever the most corrupt, and taxed the highest. Illinois has over 7000 taxing bodies more than any other state including California and they are the 5th largest economy in the world!

We are now officially a country dominated by low information voters who vote only on the basis of who is going to be a bigger Santa Claus to them.

No longer are we the country of "ask not what your country can do for you, but what can you do for your country".

I am now to the point where i'm almost ashamed to be an American.. and feel so bad about how much sacrifice 'the greatest generation' of Americans made in WWII, just to see us botch the whole damned thing.

Well put. In a country of children, Santa Claus is king.

Lets get this stright now because it's not in here! With this new law an undocumented immigrant can drive, and get insurance so that when he gets into a wreck with you your insurance will not have to fork out the bill. Sounds like this might be a good thing?

If their illegal why would they pay for insurance? Thats the first bill bill of many that will not get paid.

So I guess the documentation needed to get a driver's license is not needed any longer? http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/publications/pdf_publications/dsd_x173.pdf

Unbelievable. and Joemama - do you really think people buy insurance just becasue they have a license? Insurance is not required to get a license, so I do not see the connection.

As long as they have enough money Im sure they are. Just no checks cash only!

To be clear, I'm not against LEGAL immigration at all.

I can hardly think of anyone who's family didn't immigrate here at some point in the past. Anyone who immigrates legally should be allowed to work and pay into the social services programs - but until they've done so for seven years, they ought not to be able to obtain any of those benefits - this would help to weed out those looking to game the system to the detriment of the rest of us.

But that said, I'm 100% against giving ANYTHING to anyone who's come here illegally because we ought not to give anything to criminals.

No welfare, no handouts, no social services, no health care, and no driver's licenses. No "Dream Act" handouts to children of illegal immigrants (who should also be deemed illegal as well). It should be 100% clear that if you come here illegally, you get absolutely nothing. No one will hire you because the fine should be $100,000 per illegal employee per day to the employer.

All the illegal immigrant should get is sent back to whatever Country they originated from. If they come back a 2nd time, they should get sent to Prison and we ought to demand reimbursement of the imprisonment costs from their homeland's government - or the ability to transfer that person to the homeland where they'd be imprisoned there, at the homeland's expense.

SB 957 allows the Secretary of State to issue temporary visitor's driver's licenses to applicants who have resided in this State for more than a year, are ineligible to obtain a social security number, and who are unable to present documentation issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services authorizing the person's presence in this country.

The bill says an adult "unable to present US citizenship papers" may identify themselves to the driver's license facility staff with a valid, unexpired passport or a valid, unexpired consular ID from the applicant's country of citizenship.
Although applicants will need to take driver's tests at the DMV offices, the legislation does not require them to attend driver's training classes. If those issued temporary licenses are found to be driving without state-required car insurance, their license privileges will be suspended immediately. In order for the Secretary of State's office to prepare the needed forms, tests and personnel for these proposed changes, the legislation will take effect 10 months after it becomes law.

The Senate vote on SB 957 was as follows. Democrat senator Bill Haine and Ed Maloney opposed the bill, along with 12 Republicans - Bivins, Bomke, Cultra, Duffy, Christine Johnson, John O. Jones, La Hood, Lauzen, Luechtefeld, McCann, McCarter and Syverson.
Senator Gary Forby voted "present," and Senators Althoff, Hutchinson and Righter were not on the floor.

What is this crap? How dare the legislators do this. Illegals are criminals just by the fact they are here. Add to that the murders, rapes, drunk driving, accidents, and a host of other wrongs and it is insane to give them anything other than a good swift kick in the ass and across the border. Are they going to buy car insurance, are they going to actually buy license plates, are they really living where they say they are, are they actually trustworthy to ride a bicycle? This is wrong and it needs to be on a ballot for the WHOLE state to vote on, not just Chicago, Cook county or other densely populated latino community

What do you expect from a state who has had 4 Governors go to prison since 1968! Two are currently serving! Its embarrassing when Im in another country doing business sometimes litterally in the middle of no where and I get asked about the corruption in Illinois not the US Illinois. Its horrible. Great people here bad politics!

Jeff your facts are way off about illegal aliens and crime. So off I am embarrassed for you. When you lie make it at least sound truthful. I did a simple search and found out how wrong you are. The people have spoken. You don't like it, leave! Threats of leaving doesn't do anything. See ya later, enjoy your new state. God Bless Barack Obama and the Democrats.

Illegal immigration was one of the causes of the D300 teacher strike.

The teacher's union complained about classroom size (..and then money) as classroom sizes have grown to 35+ in a classroom.

We had a tax referendum less than ten years ago to build more schools and then another one to pay for those teachers. What's happened since then that we did not PLAN for? Why is that? Is it because the citizens in the area went on a baby making boom 10-15 years ago?

The answer is so obvious that none of the parties involved (teacher's union or administration) talked about it. Maybe they have among themselves, in whispers, but they certainly won't say it in public.

Illegal immigration has cost us quality of life and our kids a quality education, as teachers are forced to teach down to these students with little command of the national language.

Lose - lose... for taxpaying citizens.

How about a law requiring proof of ongoing insurance each 6 months to get and keep the illegal immigrant license?

Geez it's cold out today! Do you see what those damn illegals are doing to the weather in this country? Because we all know, EVERYTHING that is wrong with this country is THEIR fault.

Yes Ashley. You are really pretty much correct....

Why is it a great idea to spend millions of dollars on trying to deport every single illegal immigrant in this country? That would fall into the same category as the war on drugs. One step forward and two steps back...always costing more and more and using up our manpower of law enforcement. If we grant some forms of amnesty and work to legalize those that are here, how would that hurt the situation more than what we have now? We would get more people contributing to the economy.

Tie that in with greater border restrictions, not just in Mexico but all over. We can work at the same time to stop the human trafficking and illegal sex trade issues we have as well. With both those intact (amnesty and tighter borders) we may be able to also focus more on catching criminals instead of chasing down people working here illegally just to pay to send them home.

IF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LEGALIZED MARIJIANA, THERE WOULD BE NO DEFICIT... THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT COULD EASILY EMPLOY MEXICANS IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY TO GROW MARIJUANA AND SELL IT TO THE U.S. FOR "LEGAL" DISTRIBUTION... THE U.S. COULD THEN PACKAGE AND TAX MARIJUANA, JUST AS IT DOES FOR CIGARETTES AND ALCOHOL; TAKING THE CRIMINAL ELEMENT OUT OF IT... HOWEVER, THAT MAKES TOO MUCH SENSE FOR THEM, BUT HAVING THEIR OWN INSIDE GUYS SELLING MATERIALS TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT VIA "GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS" IS OKAY TO CHARGE $600.00 FOR A HAMMER AND $400.00 FOR A TOILET SEAT... HOPEFULLY, SOME DAY THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WILL GET IT; AS THE PROBLEM IS NOT IN THE MINORITY OR THE POOR THAT ARE RECEIVING ENTITLEMENTS, BUT RATHER THE "INSIDERS" THAT ARE HURTING THE MASSES.

It isn't being done to enhance safety, or to track illegals. It's being done so that they can vote.
If they thought the majority of illegals might vote for Republicans, the democrats wouldn't be trying to get them licenses.
Any party that trys to get non citizens into the voting booth or provide any form of assistance other than deportation can be and should be tried for treason.

I would guess Ashley is very young, or very naive? Neither party cares about the plight or problems of illegal aliens or any other impoverished group except to the extent that they can use them to stay in power.
Barack Obama is the first African American president and yet after four years, African American communities are experiencing unemployment, crime and foreclosures at record high levels. If as most liberals suggest all these rich, white conservatives and corporations wield such unfair power and advantage through payoffs, fraud and intimidation and misinformation, how is it that Obama won twice?
Mexicos own immigration policy states that anyone found in their country illegally or applying for government assistance be sentenced to life in prison. Ask a Guatemalan what the Mexican army does to people coming across its borders? They shoot them down, women and children alike!
If you really want to help Mexicans, annex Mexico and use their oil resources to take care of the citizenry, which is something the corrupt Mexican government won't do.

Gary,
The rate of illegal immigration in the US is 250,000 to 300,000 per yr. -Cato Institute

The percentage of those that are Hispanic is roughly 80% - The Pew Institute

Statics show that Latinos from Cuba, and South America tend to vote conservative/ Republican. -State voting records

In 2000, George W. Bush carried the Hispanic vote by 50% to 48%. -The Pew Institute

Illinois has been a Blue State since 1988 and the number of voters registering Democrat increases every year. - State of Illinois Voter Information

In order to register to vote in Illinois, you must have proof a citizenship. A driver's license is NOT proof of citizenship. -State of Illinois

Between the year 2000-2010: 649 million votes cast in general elections and there were 13 credible cases of in-person voter impersonation - ProPublica

You further go on to insinuate that EVERY single undocumented person that gets a drivers license will then go vote illegally, risking their freedom and deportation just so a Democrat can win.

Please take all that verified information I have just supplied you and try and rationalize the validity of your statement.

Does this mean former governor (now jailbird) George Ryan can now be exonerated?

Brian the Democrat Party has won and will continue to win elections without those phantom "illegal voters". Illinois has been a blue state for twenty years and the law allowing the undocumented drivers licenses hasn't even gone into effect. Ask yourself why government officials are not at this very moment rounding up and deporting those here illegally. It wouldn't be that difficult to do but they are not doing it. Why? Because the impact to the economy would be severe that it could backfire on the party responsible. Just ask the states of Arizona, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. Do you know the financial impact deporting immigrants will have on this country? Do the research.

Look, you can't leave your doors and windows wide open and then whine and cry that someone came into your house. Like millions of other Americans, it pisses me off that anyone can just waltz into our country but let's put the blame where the blame belongs. It is the responsibility of both State and Federal officials to secure our borders and they have not. This is not all Obama's fault. Reagan, Clinton, both Bush's and every other President and elected official previous has had every opportunity to secure our borders and have done nothing during their terms. I want some type of impenetrable wall or fence built and hundreds more border patrol agents hired. Heck, use our military if they have to, but secure our borders. Let's point the finger at who is responsible for leaving our doors and windows open. Once we secure our borders, we won't have to be wasting our time talking about "illegals" because there won't be any.
As a Christian, my faith, my Lord, tells me to love everyone, not just those who are here legally. He has commanded that I feed the poor, shelter the homeless, dress the naked and nurse the sick. I will not turn my back on my faith because someone doesn't have the proper papers. It is the responsibility of all who call themselves followers of Christ to love our brothers and sisters, and to provide if necessary regardless of what their immigration status is. If you cannot do that than don't you dare call yourself a Christian.

And what Ashley claims so proudly is why Illinois is fighting with California and New York to see who can go bankrupt first. Although turning a blind eye to illegal immigrants pales in comparison to the cost of other liberal policies, it's just one more brick in the wall of liberal ideology.
Unfortunately, what we are about to witness is another civil war precipitated by economic collapse. Since conservative, primarily red states like Arizona, Texas, Carolinas, etc., control the bulk of oil delivery and refinement, the majority of manufacturing and have a per capita gun ownership and armed services participation almost nine times that of liberal states, it's not too difficult to see who will win.
While I agree with the compassionate ideology of liberalism, it still has to be paid for, and unfortunately the states that have pursued those policies are not doing well financially and very soon will not be able to count on federal funds derived from more successful states to shore up those policies.

dan, how proud your mother must be of you to see that you can so freely insult a woman by claiming she is "not smart" simply because you have differing opinions. I hope, if you have daughters, no man ever tells them they are stupid because they did not agree with him or because they voiced an opposing view.
Let me give you some advice, calling a woman stupid doesn't make you intelligent, it makes you, well...stupid.

Exactly votes! They do get illegal voting cards but all we can do is VOTE in who each of us thinks will do the best job on dealing with the illegal immigration problems and then we can all bitch about it here.

Ashley "neither liberal policies nor immigration played a role in why Illinois is in financial distress." Really. If liberal policies didn't play A role, explain why states with Republican governors and legislatures are doing so much better. Just look at Indiana as an example.

Dan, you have altered my opinion of your character with your apology. Thank you. I'm not expecting cites or links. I am expecting that someone has done their research before the make a claim. I believe we have a responsibility to be an informed voter and to accept anything on face value only diminishes the greatness of this country. I will concede to any debater if my information is proven incorrect, but I have a difficult time respecting comments that are made without the ability to be substantiated. I respect others "opinions" as long as the discourse is civil and will always agree to disagree, but I have a very difficult time when someone attempts to proclaim something as fact without any evidence to bolster their claim.

Dan, I do believe the pigs are on the tarmac and ready for takeoff...I also agree with your current statement.

The state is broke do to corruption and poor management they rarely even make an attempt to balance the state budget but those are the people who we elected. 3 billion in debt and growing. Pretty sad.

Ashley - I know you can't wait for the Jersey Shore show. Or is Honey Booboo more your speed. Have a great day.

Get these illegal mexicans out of our country!!

an incredible amount of stupidity and xenophobia in this stream. even more than usual

First off I want to say that that I am completely against illegal immigration. I am a first generation American who came here from Europe as a refugee and have obtained citizenship the proper and legal way and do consider myself an American. I see most of you right away lean to the Hispanic community when speaking of illigal immigration and just wanted to point out and see what you all think of other illegal immigrants who are not Hispanic. I know of many students who have overstayed their visas and others who have come here with work permits and overstayed those too. I don't know the numbers and I'm not going to pretend I do but I'm sure there is a significant amount of those illigal aliens as well, granted not as many as the Hispanic community but still they do exists. The reason I bring these illigal immigrants up is because they actually do hold social security numbers and can obtain drivers licenses, insurance, credit cards, etc.

I'm guessing this "Ashley" is probably married to an illegal or has a Mexican boyfriend. Or maybe it's Luis Gutierrez.

Yeah its getting pretty bad but those imbeciles gotta have their crooked votes!

Heres what they should do, use the info the illegal mexicans give over to the us gov, then deport them. I hope this is one big trick!

The illegals immigrants are already in USA, they are employed in whatever they do. What is so disgusting or scary about them getting a license?.Isn't it a better option than they driving the trucks without licenses or having to walk or depend on somebody else to go anywhere?.
It is obvious that now or in the very future, a good number of the illegals will be legalized or given an option to become legal. There is no government in any civilized, developed country that will make an arbitrary decision to deport million plus just like that. It is acknowledged that what they have done is a criminal act, but then the criminal act is to come live in what is paradise for them, in spite of their struggles. These kind of summary expulsions or forced re-settlement will never happen, both our mainstream parties will not do it, there is no president who will take pride in such an action.

You got it. Its the votes there is no other reason to let all that illegal immigration stuff slide so much, but they do and it just cost's more money in the long run.

What is an illegal immigrant?

Oh, boy :(

Who votes for this crap, anyway? Why don't we get a vote on the matters that affect our tax dollars??? Ready to start a rebellion against our state...not that I care for Quinn in the first place!

Illinois has great people & bad politicians!