* Before posting this press release about a Gov. Pritzker executive order requiring IDHS to make sure the state is spending all it is allowed to spend on Illinois welcoming centers for immigrants, I wanted to know if there were real concerns about money not being expended.

I was told that the Rauner administration proposed eliminating funding for Welcoming Centers in its FY19, FY18, and FY17 budgets. Rauner’s FY19 budget proposal indicated that it expected to spend $0 out of the $1,499,000 million in FY18. For FY17, his office reported expending $914,700 out of the $2,630,700 appropriation.

* So, here you go…

While President Trump continues to demonize immigrant families to advance a political agenda, Gov. Pritzker is taking a proactive approach to welcome immigrant families to Illinois, ensuring they are supported and know their rights.

Illinois is home to 1.8 million immigrants, and one in six Illinois workers is an immigrant. There are 120,000 immigrant business owners in the state, and immigrants who are employers generate more than $2.5 billion in business income. They also pay billions in federal, state and local taxes. Importantly, immigrants are our neighbors, our friends and our family.

“This executive order will help protect immigrants and refugees and allow all our diverse immigrant communities to thrive. Let there be no doubt that Illinois is a welcoming state,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “With our president doing everything he can to attack immigrants and refugees in Illinois, I want to make it clear from the beginning of my administration that we’re going to stand up for all of our children and families. Illinois should be a state where all have access to opportunity and the ability to thrive, and my administration is taking steps to advance that goal.”

Alongside legislators and immigrant rights advocates at Family Focus Aurora, Gov. Pritzker signed an executive order that expands access to welcoming centers and informs immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers of the state programs that promote their human and civil rights as well as social and economic opportunity. Executive Order 2019-07 seeks to bring dignity, respect and stability into communities that have been attacked for too long.

“Immigrants who come to America want to better their lives, contribute to their communities and live in a place where they feel safe. Welcoming Centers play a key role in guiding new immigrants and those seeking asylum as they settle into our great state,” said Sen. Omar Aquino (D-2nd). “After years of dealing with a governor who continuously devalued the importance of these services, I look forward to working with a governor who places priority on our most vulnerable populations.”

“Anti-immigrant rhetoric has given fuel to negative perceptions and stereotypes of our nation’s immigrant populations, forcing thousands of immigrant families to live in fear on a daily basis,” said Sen. Linda Holmes (D-42nd). “I commend Gov. Pritzker’s early work to ensure Illinois remains a welcoming place for immigrants from across the world who continue to strengthen our economy, our neighborhoods and our state.”

“While the president holds the federal government hostage to build a wall and torment immigrant families, Gov. Pritzker is making it clear that Illinois is a welcoming state,” said Rep. Lisa Hernandez (D-24th).“This executive order ensures that immigrants and refugees know about the state resources are available to them and sends a signal to families across our state that we have a governor who will not only protect them against Trump’s attacks, but who will do whatever he can to help them live better lives.”

“Governor Pritzker is working to restore trust between government and immigrant families that have been under attack and cast into the shadows,” said Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia (D-83rd). “Today’s executive order shows this governor is committed to making Illinois a welcoming state, letting families know their rights and getting them the tools they need to thrive.”

The EO is here.