* Progress Illinois…

U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) and U.S. Rep. Bob Dold (R-IL,10) are among the elected officials scheduled to attend a Wednesday morning roundtable discussion in Chicago on “commonsense” immigration reform.

Speakers at the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition’s discussion “will be coming together to discuss best practices for engaging bipartisan members of Congress to pass sensible reform that expands visas for high and low skilled workers and agricultural workers, and creates a path to citizenship for undocumented workers,” according to an announcement.

Also expected to attend the event are U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL,25), Illinois State Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno and various business leaders.

“The elected officials speaking in the roundtable discussion are part of a growing group of conservative voices who favor reform over walls and are calling for commonsense immigration legislation in 2017, which would reduce the federal deficit by nearly $900 billion and would strengthen Social Security by $700 billion,” the announcement reads.

This is the same group which got a law enacted recently to provide health insurance coverage for 41,000 undocumented children. It is bipartisan in more than name only.

* But not everybody is happy about this development, including Congresscritter Luis Gutierrez…

I want my U.S. Senators in Illinois to be consistent allies for immigrants and fighters for immigration reform. I want them to be in touch with the concerns of the Latino community and the city of Chicago. I don’t want them to oppose immigrant rights on principle and occasionally flip-flop when it’s politically convenient. And I sure don’t want them to frequently embarrass the state of Illinois by making Trump-like offensive comments, especially about immigrants and Latinos. That’s why I’m voting for Democrat Tammy Duckworth for U.S. Senate this November and I urge everyone reading this to do the same.

For the last four years, I have served in the U.S. House of Representatives with Tammy and she’s been at my side, fighting for immigration reform. Republican Mark Kirk, on the other hand, has been nowhere to be found — until recently when he started running for re-election. Suddenly he wants to claim the mantle of immigration reform. Kirk’s decision to start talking about immigration reform may be politically convenient but it lacks political conviction.

That rant, which goes on for quite a while, was forwarded to me three times today by the Duckworth campaign, along with statements Kirk has made and votes he’s taken on this issue that aren’t exactly in line with today’s event.

So, yeah, he hasn’t always been a loyal ally. And, yes, it’s an election year. But the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition is a legit group, not some partisan front. It has proven its bonafides by working diligently with both sides of the aisle.

Let it go.

*** UPDATE *** Back in 2006, candidate Duckworth was all fired up in a Daily Herald interview about adding thousands more border patrol agents and being against “amnesty” and requiring immigrants to learn English…

Q. List the three or four most important elements of your preferred immigration reform and explain what objectives they would achieve.

Duckworth. In any immigration reform, protecting our borders must be the top priority. In an era of global terrorism, it is unconscionable that the federal government has failed to address the millions of people who continue to enter the U.S. illegally. I would start by adding 12,000 new Border Patrol agents to the current force. We also need Congress to pass a comprehensive reform of our immigration system.

The proposal that I support does not provide amnesty. Instead, it requires illegal immigrants to pay fines, undergo criminal background checks, and pay all back taxes. Immigrants would be compelled to learn English and take courses in American culture and civics. If - and only if - an immigrant meets all of those requirements while continuing to be gainfully employed, he or she would be allowed to pursue legal status. Even then, these applicants would have to go to the back of the line.