Illinois Lawmakers Push Detention Center Ban
(Springfield, IL) — Illinois lawmakers are pushing legislation designed to keep immigration detention centers out of certain areas of the state. An Illinois House committee approved a measure that would ban immigration detention centers within 15-hundred feet of schools, churches, day care centers, cemeteries, public parks, forest preserves, private homes and public housing. House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson testified in support of the bill. Both represent the Broadview area, where an ICE processing center is located.
ICC Approves $370M in Rail Safety Improvements
(Chicago, IL) — The Illinois Commerce Commission is signing off on its annual five-year plan to implement safety upgrades at highway-rail crossings across the state. The plan authorizes 376-million-dollars in funding for grade crossing safety improvements and highway-rail grade separations at approximately 387 crossing locations. Federal Railroad Administration data indicates there were 119 collisions at public crossings in Illinois last year and 34 deaths.
Pritzker Acknowledges Failures That Led Up To Killing Of Loyola Student
(Chicago, IL) — Governor Pritzker is acknowledging that there were “real failures” in the nation’s immigration system that led up to the killing of Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman last week in Chicago. Pritzker said there have been national failures, a failure to have comprehensive immigration reform, and a failure of President Trump to “go after the worst of the worst.” Jose Medina, a Venezuelan immigrant, was charged with murder after 18-year-old Gorman was shot and killed last Thursday near the pier at Tobey Prinz Beach. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security claims Medina was apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in 2023 and released into the country under the Biden administration.