Illinois
Controversial Illinois ‘sanctuary’ law at center of Pritzker's testimony in Washington
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker prepares to testify before a Congressional committee on Thursday morning, he’ll face questions about the state’s TRUST Act.
The controversial law limits the degree to which local police can cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
The backstory:
In 2017, Illinois enacted the TRUST Act under Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.
The law bans local police from complying with federal requests to detain or arrest a person in the country illegally, unless ordered by a judge.
Local law enforcement also cannot stop, search, or arrest anyone based solely on their immigration or citizenship status.
In 2021, the state legislature passed laws expanding protections for immigrants in Illinois.
Mark Fleming of the National Immigrant Justice Center helped craft the bill and said the point is to keep immigration enforcement in the hands of federal agents.
“State and local governments are making a decision not to participate in civil immigration enforcement,” Fleming said.
Fleming said that doesn’t mean local law enforcement can’t help out in some cases.
“We’re not allowed to ask where you’re from. They made that part of the act,” he said.
The other side:
DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick, who recently announced a run for governor as a Republican, said the Trust Act has forced police officers to choose between conflicting sets of state and federal laws.
“They’ve got the cops scared to death,” Mendrick said. “Cops are worried that if they take action, they’re gonna get sued.”
Mendrick believes Illinois communities would be safer if police shared immigration status of criminal suspects right away, so ICE could apprehend them while in custody – as opposed to raiding homes, schools and businesses. But Fleming says the idea is to allow residents to come out of the shadows without fear of being deported by local police.
“Every study that has looked at it has uniformly found that TRUST Act doesn’t diminish community safety, and that in areas like domestic violence laws like the TRUST Act enhance community safety,” Fleming said.
But Mendrick says he believes the TRUST Act violates federal law and is calling for the Department of Justice to investigate.
“You can’t shield them from detection,” Mendrick said. “Giving them housing and putting 44 million into housing, sounds like shielding to me, sounds like harboring, sounds like participating.”
Fleming says the courts have already spoken and ruled in favor of the state’s implementation of the law.
“Frankly, this issue has been litigated over and over first in the first Trump administration and now in the second Trump administration,” he said.
Illinois
Lake County detectives rescue girl from man they say drove to Illinois from Georgia to meet her
Detectives from Lake County, Illinois, Sheriff’s office rescued a girl under 14 from a grown man who had traveled from Georgia to meet her this weekend, authorities said Sunday.
At 4:40 a.m. Saturday, Lake County sheriff’s deputies were called to unincorporated Gurnee for a report of a missing girl under the age of 14. Deputies learned the girl had never run away before, and it was especially concerning that she did so in the middle of the night, authorities said.
Sheriff’s detectives learned the girl’s cellphone was not functioning, and she could not be found through any of her electronic devices. Detectives also found that a 24-year-old man from Norcross, Georgia, named Jordy Alexis Fuerte Perez had been communicating with her, authorities said.
Detectives learned that Fuerte Perez had made plans to drive to Illinois from Georgia and pick up the girl, and evidence indicates he told the girl he wanted a “romantic relationship” with her, authorities said.
Detectives homed in on a vehicle that Fuerte Perez may have been driving, and found the vehicle at the Independence Grove Forest Preserve near Libertyville, authorities said. Both Fuerte Perez and the girl were in the car in a parking lot when detectives arrived at 6 p.m. Saturday, authorities said.
The girl did not appear to be injured, but was taken to the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center for specialized advocacy and attention, authorities said.
Fuerte Perez was charged with two counts of solicitation of child pornography, and one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, namely cocaine. More charges ar likely, authorities said.
“This type of case is a parent’s worst nightmare. Our Criminal Investigations Division took this case seriously and worked tirelessly from the moment the girl was reported missing until she was safely located,” Lake County Sherif John Idleburg said in a news release. “While there will undoubtedly be a long road to recovery and healing, I am grateful the victim was found safe and is physically okay. I am proud of everyone who played a role in rescuing this young girl and bringing the offender to the first steps of justice.”
Fuerte Perez was due in court on Sunday morning. The Lake County State’s Attorney’s office is asking to have him held while awaiting trial.
Illinois
Illinois Prison Closure Deepens Small Town’s Fears
In Lincoln, Ill., another pillar just fell. The New York Times’ Julie Bosman reports that the state plans to close Logan Correctional Center, a women’s prison that employs more than 500 people, stripping the Route 66 town of about 13,000 of one of its last major, stable job sources. State officials say the nearly century-old complex is too deteriorated to fix and will be replaced by a new, modern facility in Crest Hill, outside Chicago. Capitol News Illinois reports the Illinois Department of Corrections estimates it’ll take five years to build the new prison.
In Lincoln, where factories, a glass plant, and even a 157-year-old college have already called it quits, that decision feels like one more hit—and one that favors the Chicago area over downstate. Residents and local leaders, who spent years lobbying to keep the prison, now worry about a fresh wave of departures as families follow jobs elsewhere, further straining schools and small businesses already on the edge. For a look at what the loss of a single prison means for one Midwestern town—which takes particular pride in the fact it was uniquely named for Abraham Lincoln before he became president—read the full piece.
Illinois
Illinois GOP chair says Obama Center is political operation on public land | Fox News Video
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Bob Grogan says the Obama Presidential Center functions as a political operation and headquarters for the Obama Foundation rather than a traditional presidential library.
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Bob Grogan says the Obama Presidential Center functions as a political operation and headquarters for the Obama Foundation rather than a traditional presidential library. Grogan discusses public land, taxpayer-funded infrastructure, the Center’s endowment shortfall and why critics continue to oppose the project.
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