76 Comments - train111 - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:03 am: Big Illinois Review rant coming in T minus 5…4…3 - Bill White - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:07 am: Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses, yearning to breath free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door. - Demoralized - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:08 am: Sometimes the best thing to do is just shut up. Now the nut jobs are going to hang their hat on this statement and say the Governor does plan to house these kids in Illinois. Why in the world would you want to feed the kooks with stuff like this. - Rich Miller - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:09 am: ===Why in the world would you want to feed the kooks with stuff like this.=== To provoke a response from Rauner. Move him right or left. - Demoralized - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:11 am: ==To provoke a response from Rauner. Move him right or left.== Fair enough. And I suppose you can’t worry about what the Twilight Zone fringe is going to do ’cause they are going to do it regardless. - Rob Roy - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:14 am: Send us your criminals and gang bangers we don’t have enough violence in our streets yet, your unemployed to compete with our unemployed for the fewer and fewer jobs that we have available here in IL. Your poor because we have a budge short fall now and we want to declare a police state and get out of paying our constitutional obligations any way we can. Only 20% of the illegals are children so 80% are not children. Quinn you sir are an clueless. - Ron Burgundy - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:15 am: Concern is nice, but I don’t see a position towards a solution there. - Rich Miller - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:16 am: === Quinn you sir are an clueless=== When you’re bashing non English-speaking immigrants, it’s best to always proofread first. Dead giveaway that you’re a moron. - Rob Roy - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:18 am: So are you Rich ban me if you like. I guess this kind of stuff makes me boil and I type fast. Don’t care. I see you attack the person and not the content as always. - Pete - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:20 am: “it’s best to always proofread first.” … teh crazy - for real. - Bill White - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:20 am: In 2007 there were an estimated 12.2 million illegal immigrants in the United States. In 2012 there were an estimated 11.7 million illegal immigrants in the United States. 11.7 is less than 12.2 Yes it is a problem but no it is not a crisis. - Demoralized - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:21 am: @Rob: The statement was about KIDS but thanks for your anti-immigrant rant. We certainly don’t see enough of that these days. And it’s nice to see we have another victim on these boards. Your fellow victims welcome you. - Rich Miller - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:22 am: Pete, Google it. - Bray Wyatt - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:23 am: I see they are serving scotch and vermouth at Fox - Cassiopeia - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:28 am: I think Quinn will get a response from Jesse Jackson very soon. He has been speaking out recently against helping these children before helping our poor that are already here. - Aldyth - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:28 am: Adults make their own choices and in many cases, they create their own problems. Kids don’t. As far as I am concerned, those children are welcome in my state and should be treated with compassion while they await their hearings that will determine their fates. Cruelty to children is not acceptable. - 100 Miles West - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:28 am: I am happy that my great-grandfather, teenage deserting German sailor,(deserting sailor was a box you could check on your form) isn’t trying to get in today. He was not a gang banger, or criminal, he started a successful business and was eventually elected mayor of his town. Yes all these children escaping war and poverty are gang members and criminals. Give me a break. - Budget Watcher - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:35 am: Whatever the Rauner response is, he might want to let Sanguinetti deliver it. I would think the message might be one that is critical of Obama border policy yet sympathetic to the children. Kind of a standard ambiguous Rauner response delivered by his Latino running mate. - 47th Ward - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:42 am: Teh crazy indeed. 500 years ago it was the Spanish. 400 years ago it was the English and French. 200 years ago it was the Germans. 150 years ago it was the Irish and Chinese. 100 years ago it was the Italians and Jews. 50 years ago it was the Hmong and Cubans. 30 years ago it was the Mexicans. Today it is the Hondurans, Guatemalans, Salvadorans etc. We’re a nation of immigrants. Somehow I think we’ll survive. - Skeptic - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:43 am: Here’s a thought experiment…what would the right wingnuts do if Mexico became Communist? Couldn’t let them in because they’re illegal, but couldn’t keep them out because they’re commies coming to freedom. To the post: If we as Americans want the U.S. to be a shining beacon of peace, democracy and prosperity and an example to the world, this is exactly the kind of thing we need to embrace. - MrJM (@MisterJayEm) - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:45 am: “We want to declare a police state and get out of paying our constitutional obligations any way we can.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe%27s_law – MrJM - Cassandra - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:45 am: If their parents or relatives live in Illinois, they should be placed with them in Illinois, while they go through whatever legal process awaits them. I think that’s what the feds used to do anyway. Not sure why the discussion has changed. What scares me most about some of the proposals coming out of the Obama admin is the notion that the feds (or rather, contractors) are going to build “shelters” for these kids. Kids don’t belong in institutional care. Illinois DCFS, for ex, is pretty much out of the institutional placement business after decades of scandals involving same during the 20th. Why are we going backward. That $3.7 billion must look like catnip to greedy contractors across the country. It’s also worth noting that most of the kids whose parents are already here were probably planning to come up here anyway eventually so this is an acceleration of what would have happened eventually anyway. Read any immigration story and there is probably a theme of adults coming first then bringing the kids. And the 21st century is going to be one big immigration story around the world, because of globalization and other trends. - OneMan - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:47 am: Now here would be an interesting response… I have a great concern for the children that have been sent to the US by their parents and as a great nation we have an obligation to ensure they are treated fairly and humanly in the tradition of this great nation. However as Illinois’ social services are already strained by limited resources and have been failing some of the most vulnerable here in Illinois now I am not sure spreading these limited resources thinner do the residents of Illinois nor those those escaping violence, abuse, abandonment and human trafficking any favors. I encourage the federal government to work towards a solution and Illinois can help, but not at the expense of the most vulnerable among us. - Timmeh - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:50 am: Good political move and the right thing to do. Guessing Rauner will come up with something wishy-washy: “I care for them children, but what about the cash? Also immigration reform plz.” - Under Further Review - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:53 am: My ancestors emigrated to the United States legally and became citizens. They did not jump the border. They were subject to medical examinations to determine their health. They were also from the generation of immigrants who were subject to “economic” deportation in the event that they were not capable of supporting themselves and at risk of becoming dependent upon government relief — that is still the law, but the USA stopped enforcing this provision years ago. My ancestors had to pass a test and become proficient in English and foreswear any foreign allegiances. It was not a bad system and it worked benefiting the nation and the newcomers. It pains me when illegal aliens and their advocates attempt to describe them as being the same as early generations of immigrants who followed the laws. - Rich Miller - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:56 am: UFR, I don’t think there were any immigration laws when my ancestors came over. - Rich Miller - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:56 am: …somewhere around the early 1700s for quite a few. - wordslinger - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:01 am: Attaboy. It’s not like he had a choice, coming up the way he did. Guess he paid attention in Sunday school and listened to his parents. The screamers are going to scream. So what? That’s what they do. Next week, it will be something else. Some Brylcrem boys on K-Street and millionaire media “brands” in Midtown will continue to hustle bucks and votes stirring up fear and hatred against the kids, but so what? That’s what they do. Next week, it will be something else. The politics and law of this crisis will get sorted out, with no help from the screamers. Until then, I have no doubt that plenty of people in Illinois and across the country just want to make sure these kids are safe, have shelter and get a bite to eat, just as if the kids showed up unexpectedly at their doorstep — which they did. Good on you, Quinn. - Responsa - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:01 am: I just wish Gov. Quinn’s statement had included some actions and some proposals for how Illinois is going to help out the border crisis and help solve the problem with the unaccompanied kids– the old rubber meets the road “who when where and how” aspects of the battle cry. His words sound nice and compassionate and it’s hard to disagree with the concept of faith and love. But without saying what he has in mind, and who’s going to step up, and how it’s all going to be monitored and paid for, it’s the same old governor soyboy Mississippi River Land of Lincoln blah blah. Rauner has the opportunity to make a ruly good statement here. Let’s hope he comes up with one and does. - Rharaz - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:02 am: Could we as US citizens help remedy the issue of people fleeing Central America with little (or no) intervention by the state of Illinois? Perhaps, if we made more charitable contributions (see http://www.immigrationproject.org/how-to-help-immigration-il/ , https://cliniclegal.org/donate , http://www.stjames-cathedral.org/immigrant/donate_to_refugees_immigrants.html, http://www.heifer.org/join-the-conversation/blog/2013/April/improving-incomes-in-central-america-through-agriculture.html ). Perhaps, if we could try to understand the root causes for the immigrants’ flight (see http://www.vox.com/2014/6/16/5813406/explain-child-migrant-crisis-central-america-unaccompanied-children-immigrants-daca ). Perhaps, if we could try to repeal our prohibition on drugs which increases organized, violent crime both here and in Central America (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repeal_of_Prohibition_in_the_United_States ). “Five years of Prohibition have had, at least, this one benign effect: they have completely disposed of all the favorite arguments of the Prohibitionists. None of the great boons and usufructs that were to follow the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment has come to pass. There is not less drunkenness in the Republic, but more. There is not less crime, but more. There is not less insanity, but more. The cost of government is not smaller, but vastly greater. Respect for law has not increased, but diminished.” H. L. Mencken - anonymoose - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:04 am: Sympathetic to countless people trying to better themselves, who would not be? No one forgets this nation welcomes immigrants. The problem is the perception anyone can come to the United States illegally and not be deported back, the perception sending waves of people during summer - the hottest time of year. Countless people then taxing local resources, during some extremely lean times. And the biggest problem is, extending a helping hand only seems to reinforce the perception more people are welcome to cross the border. As for me, I am, for example, deeply concerned about the welfare of the children of Chicago, a child who cannot go to a simple sleep over and make S’mores with out being randomly shot in a City that has tough gun control laws already in place. Sad, and some may say parochial, but my conclusion is we have to extend a stronger hand to care for U.S. citizens already having many problems and issues. - Under Further Review - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:04 am: My relations emigrated later on. Yesteday, I attended a wake where there were many former emigrants and their priority upon arrival was to find regular employment. For those in the building trades, it was important to secure a new job as soon as one building project was completed. In those days, the thought of immigrants demanding services was incredible. Of course, these people entered the USA during the Forties and Fifties (Truman/Eisenhower) when the old rules were still rigorously enforced. - Timmeh - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:06 am: ==They were also from the generation of immigrants who were subject to “economic” deportation in the event that they were not capable of supporting themselves and at risk of becoming dependent upon government relief — that is still the law, but the USA stopped enforcing this provision years ago.== Source Required. - wordslinger - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:13 am: UFR, try to understand. The kids are not crafty con men looking to steal your job AND go on welfare (however that works). They’re scared refugees at the end of their ropes, running because they fear getting whacked back home. Do yourself a favor, cousin, walk a mile in the other guy’s shoes, and maybe you’ll discover who the real victims are (hint: you’re not one of them). - Under Further Review - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:18 am: Try reading the United States Code. The law has not been repealed, but it is no longer actively enforced. I have known some people who worked for ICE and they will tell you horror stories about how they have been handcuffed in terms of performing their jobs. Catch one person while the bureaucracy lets eight or nine run away. Janet Napolitano was not one of their favorite people. - Plutocrat03 - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:20 am: So Governor Quinn want to help out the disadvantaged youth from Central America. I hope he will be more successful helping them than he has been helping the kids who are American citizens who already live here. The parallels are striking. Children from both sides of the border suffer from poverty, come from broken families and are subject to random acts of violence by criminals. Pandering to the n-th degree. - Anon - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:20 am: These children should be considered refugees fleeing extreme violence in countries with the world’s highest murder rates. I hope Rauner would also welcome child refugees, even as some of his Christian Right supporters foam at the mouth. - Under Further Review - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:21 am: @Wordslinger: Did a former Illinois resident by the name of Ronald W. Reagan once opine that a nation without borders would soon cease to be a nation? It is easy to be charitable when you insist that someone else has to foot the bill. - Timmeh - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:29 am: Let’s not pretend that poverty in Central America is equal to poverty in the US. Or that ICE agents are telling “horror stories” that are equal to the horror stories that the children who are seeking asylum are telling. And UFR: He’s not saying ~someone~ else has to foot the bill. Just the United States government, a representative democracy in which he lives and votes and has a voice in. - Anon - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:32 am: My wife and I are currently going through the green card process. Its long, expensive and incredibly frustrating. Its also legal. I can afford it and thankfully we have been able to see each other somewhat regularly. Seeing as we are going through the legal process, one might assume that I am frustrated at this recent influx of children. I am not and its not just because they are children. Its because of what you sacrifice if you enter this country illegally. Good luck returning home for Christmas or a family/friend funeral. Can you imagine not being able to return for a parent’s funeral? Living in constant fear of deportation. Not being able to ever taste Grandma’s home cooking again. The sacrifices these people make speaks to their desperation. That should invoke sympathy, not rage. I do not advocate for open borders. I think people should enter legally. But I can tell you that we are in dire need of immigration reform. It is a broken system. These particular children in the news may have came here illegally, but those detained are now following a LEGAL process. We should treat these children with compassion as they work through the current LEGAL process for people in their situation. Those saying put them on a train home today are advocating for an illegal deportation process. They are also advocating for needlessly putting children in danger. I am fortunate that my wife and I are in a position to afford the legal process and wait the 11 months or more it takes to get a green card. We also benefit from the accurate record keeping we enjoy in both of our countries. My sympathies are with those not in our position. - lake county democrat - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:36 am: As Nick Kristof once wrote in the NY Times, these pro-immigrant moves are often “compassion that hurts.” Quoting the inscription provided by the French on the Statute of Liberty may feel good, but outside of the few true “open borders” supporters the people saying it don’t TRULY mean it. If they did they would be welcoming literally a million or more refugees who would come to our embassies in Sudan, South Sudan, Central Africa Republic, Congo and other hellholes that make Central America seem quaint by comparison (especially the child sex crimes the statute in question is directed to). More broadly, the kindness extended to illegal immigrants in general has had a terrible effect on workers without a high school diploma and particularly on the African-American underclass (see the 2008 US Civil Rights Commission Report discussing the research on this). But people who point out the negative effects of illegal immigration, that the CBO says the Gang of Eight Bill will only cut illegal immigration by 25%, and the like are called “kooks” and racists - even though in 2006 when George W. Bush was pushing “compassion” towards illegal immigrants many leading progressives raised the same concern (gotta love that “only in opposition” politics). What’s tragic is that the “kindness” folks seem to ignore what is happening to the kids and families who don’t make it to the border: who are drowning or being killed at the last minute by the gangs who bring them. Until the incentive for them to come here is removed, that just continues. The better lives they want to give these kids comes at a cost of shortened lives for others. No, we shouldn’t act callously towards the children/families already here (though it’s untrue that most of these are children and not entire families). Nor are we going to deport the illegal immigrants already here. But we don’t need to be broadcasting our compassion to the rest of the world or doing anything that doesn’t quickly and expeditiously return the refugee seekers to their home countries, and we shouldn’t make a bad illegal immigration system worse by pretending we can have our “compassion” without serious costs. - A guy... - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:37 am: If these people hear any news, they might believe Chicago is the only place less safe than the place they left. With due respect Governor, let’s give equal time to that wrong and damning perception. - Give Me A Break - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:41 am: I have to think Native Americans laugh at this whole debate about securing the borders from “illegal immigrants”. - Cheryl44 - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:42 am: Is that the same Reagen who once admitted his grandfather came here illegally? - OldSmoky2 - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:44 am: ===My ancestors emigrated to the United States legally and became citizens. They did not jump the border.=== I think most Native Americans would argue that point with you. - Lil Squeezy - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:45 am: We are not a nation that cannot afford sympathy. We have incredible wealth. We are the richest nation in the western world. We spend $58.5 billion a year on our pets. Our problem is that our wealth is concentrated in the hands of people who are allowed to not pay their taxes. We can afford lots of things. You name it and we can most likely afford it. We just choose not to. We have a problem of arrogance. Of refusing to compare ourselves to our peers (other western nations). Because America is the greatest country in the world (snark intended). So keep it up the fight against higher taxes for the rich, and enjoy your 2 weeks vacation. - Empty Suit - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:48 am: When told many would be relocated to Illinois the refugee children responded “por favor envíenos volver!” - Formerly Known As... - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:50 am: Granting refugee status on the basis of gang violence and poverty? That sounds like a compassionate, human thing to do. Is this open to the residents of certain areas in Chicago, Philadelphia, Long Beach, Oklahoma City, Los Angeles, Newark, Houston and Oakland as well? - CircularFiringSquad - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:53 am: This Just In From Flip HQ ‘Diane and I and Slip & Sue’s family are planning to loan one of our many ranches to these newcomers to America just as soon as we can get the tax code expanded so the loophole benefit that causes our handouts to charter schools broadened to cover storage bins for foreign children.” - Give Me A Break - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:55 am: - OldSmoky2 - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:44 am: ===My ancestors emigrated to the United States legally and became citizens. They did not jump the border.=== And you can bet they “jumped someone’s border” that existed long before they got here. - haverford - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:55 am: UFR, would this be the same Ronald Reagan who funded the Central American dictatorships and contra programs that decimated Central American economies and disappeared millions, destabilizing their populations? Would this also be the same Ronald Reagan that ramped up the War on Drugs, creating and then exporting the drug-profiting gangs that are now terrorizing these same countries? History real talk time. If there is one person who holds direct responsibility for this crisis, it’s the dear, beloved Gipper. (Though I suppose it is somewhat delicious that he also be invoked as the reason these young refugees should be deported. Bravo, sir.) - Under Further Review - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:56 am: @Timmeh: Check out a poll on public attitudes towards mass immigration. The representatives in Congress are not in tune with their constituents on this subject. The public wants less immigration and no amnesty. - Neglected stepchild - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:58 am: Lo, the gush of compassion and the dearth of common sense. - Under Further Review - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:58 am: If the children and teens are fleeing gang violence abroad, they would not be accomplishing much by coming to Chicago where gang violence is epidemic. - lake county democrat - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 11:02 am: UFR - The public wants less immigration BUT they also want to deal with the reality of people already here. There’s a good faith compromise that would secure the border (fence with all it’s expense, E-Verify with teeth) in exchange for legal status (and many would be fine with “amnesty”). What is being pushed is the WORST of both worlds compromise - immediate legal status with continued illegal immigration and truckloads of spending to merely put a dent in it. - Under Further Review - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 11:08 am: No argument with that Lake County Democrat. E-Verify is a good idea. - Formerly Known As... - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 11:09 am: == I think most Native Americans would argue that point with you. == As most first, second, third, fourth, etc. generations of immigrants who have come here in accordance with every law during the few-hundred years since would argue with you. And just to be clear, the individuals coming here today as refugees and seeking shelter would also be in full compliance with our statutes. There are differences between seizing land through atrocity, immigrating legally, immigrating illegally and seeking refugee status. Your quarrel is with the Mayflower. Not the great-great-great grandchildren of people living in Europe, Asia or South America at the time and came here “legally” hundreds of years later by following every law on the books. - MrJM (@MisterJayEm) - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 11:17 am: Anyone else remember when Americans were brave enough to face the threat of children? – MrJM - wordslinger - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 11:22 am: –Did a former Illinois resident by the name of Ronald W. Reagan once opine that a nation without borders would soon cease to be a nation?– LOL, you can’t be serious. Would that be the same Reagan who beat Congress like a rented mule to pass the Simpson-Mazzoli Act? Who told the Commies, “empty your gulags, we’ll take them?” Dude, what do you think is going on here, that these kids are blitzkrieging across the Rio Grande in Panzer divisions? Get over yourself about threats to sovereignty, it’s lunacy. - Keyser Soze - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 11:40 am: Back on point, it was a preemptive strike by the Governor to offset anticipated criticism for Illinois’ acceptance of Central American refugees. I can’t imagine anyone wanting another anti-immigrant protest such as that in California. - walker - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 11:40 am: ====Google it=== I googled “teh crazy” and it referred me to Capitol Fax. - 47th Ward - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 11:47 am: ===Back on point,=== This is how the Quinn campaign hopes to avoid talking about fiscal issues and NRI for the next three months. They’ll talk about any controversial social issue possible, try to get Rauner to bite, and hope they distract enough people from the real issues that ought to matter most in the election. Not that I’m cynical or anything, but it’s a good tactic for Quinn. The question is, will Rauner be dumb enough to keep taking the bait? - lake county democrat - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 11:50 am: Worslinger omits that Ronald Reagan and others thought that Simpson-Mazzoli was going to grant amnesty to 300,000, not 12,000,000 (some report that he later said he regretted his support, but the source - an alleged comment to Ed Meese - is very dubious). It’s an open question what he would think of it now. It should be self-evident though that if you have an open border accessible by people living in extreme poverty and violence with the most likely outcome of crossing that border being 1) more money you could hope to make in your life, 2) education, emergency room health care and other benefits for your kids, 3) citizenship for your kids or grandkids (whenever they arrived), they’ll keep coming. Eventually they will vote and change what otherwise would have been the political course of the nation. Heck, in Chicago it took gerrymandering to preserve the same level of African-American political power in Chicago after demographic changes here. - VanillaMan - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 11:52 am: Before we stereotype anyone anymore with this, lets first recognize that Quinn is on it as a governor should be. Good. He needs to be shown ON IT. And he is. Now - what Rauner has to do is be neutral. The issue polarizes itself naturally. He doesn’t have to take a stand other than to appear sincerely concerned. That way if anything happens to make news, it goes against the governor. It is dynamite. Don’t play with it. - VanillaMan - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 11:58 am: In his diaries, President Ronald Reagan said he was going to sign the bill because we had to regain control of our borders. He signed Simpson Mazzoli expecting the borders to be secured. Stop spinning Reagan as an amnesty supporter. He wasn’t. “Reagan who beat Congress like a rented mule…” Mulecrap. - Rich Miller - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 12:00 pm: This post is about a relatively micro topic, so some of y’all need to stop trying so hard to make it into a macro topic. Get back on topic or deletions will begin. - carbaby - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 12:03 pm: I’m curious as to why there has not been much acknowledgement that we already have a significant population of unaccompanied minors in this state and systems in place. I know of three housing centers with one agency in Cook county that has been doing this work for many years. These housing centers are also licensed as child care facilities with DCFS. This agency also has expanded their program to assess sponsor families and place these minors in these homes. There are other agencies that have popped up since October that conduct home studies and placement services for unaccompanied minors here but started in Texas quite some time back. For those children who make it to DCFS care, DCFS applies application J’s for those children. I have worked with hundreds of undocumented families over the years. The hardships and obstacles these families have faced to get here and to sustain themselves would be unthinkable and insurmountable for many of us. That has always given me a little perspective and is humbling. As such, I have a hard time tolerating the “us” vs. “them” mentality. I also have a hard time swallowing people telling children “they don’t belong here” because of how and where they came from. - a drop in - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 12:11 pm: –Until the incentive for them to come here is removed, that just continues– As long as the U.S. and other Western contries exist they incentive exists. It’s THAT bad out there. There are 53 million refugees (most since WW2) around the world. You can read about then dying trying to get into Europe and America every day. - Ghost - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 12:51 pm: I am humbeled to live in a place that is considered so great, that families would agree to seperate from their children to grant them access to that place/life. People send their children to smash upon fortress america in the hopes of a dream that they just might get through. Shame on us for setting upon high towers and looking down on those standing at our gates seeking only the dream of a better life…. - RonOglesby - Now in TX - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 12:57 pm: Pick an issue that will not show his failures and is pure politics because lets face it, Quinn has little input on anything to do with this current (national) issue. - OLK 73 - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 12:58 pm: I hate to be the wet blanket, but how are we going to pay for this? States broke man. - Cassandra - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 1:00 pm: Both nationally and locally, the foster care population is decreasing in the US, although it could probably be much lower with better management. Nevertheless, we don’t want to reverse the trend by placing a large population of kids from other countries in substitute care. From what I’m reading, the majority of these kids coming over the border are trying to reunite with family members. That should be the focus of any resettlement program, not developing a large new child placement bureaucracy. We tried that in the 20th century, It didn’t work. - Formerly Known As... - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 1:01 pm: == This is how the Quinn campaign hopes to avoid talking about fiscal issues and NRI for the next three months. == Bingo. Try to sucker Rauner into saying or doing something stupid, anything that will get focus off of things like the economy, violence and our budget. - Formerly Known As... - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 1:21 pm: == it was a preemptive strike by the Governor to offset anticipated criticism for Illinois’ acceptance of Central American refugees == ding ding ding. We have our second winner. Governor Quinn understands this could have some important Illinois political ramifications, particularly among voters for governor. This issue is quickly becoming a local hot potato, as displayed by those protests you reference and a just-released CNN poll showing that 51% now say “border security” is the top priority over “legal status”. == That’s a change from February, when Americans said 54%-41% that legal status trumped border security… majorities in the Midwest and South say border security is the top priority. == http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/07/24/cnn-poll-border-crisis-impacting-public-opinion-on-immigration/ - Precinct Captain - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 4:28 pm: ==- Rich Miller - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 9:56 am:== Immigration was unrestricted until well into the 19th century in the colonies and the United States. ==- anonymoose - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:04 am:== Yeah, record deportation really sends the message that you can come and we never send you back! ==- Under Further Review - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 10:04 am:== By the “old rules,” you mean the racist quotas that were stacked in favor of white Europeans? ==- Formerly Known As… - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 11:09 am:== What about all the people from Central and South America, as well as Asian and Pacific Islanders who were denied access because they weren’t of European heritage? ==- lake county democrat - Friday, Jul 25, 14 @ 11:50 am:== Sounds like the same racist BS that led to white people literally build a wall to keep out black people in Detroit. - Wumpus - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 12:26 pm: with Rahm’s acceptance of 1000 kids, is it okay for teh crazy to speak up? 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