Community Corner

Patch Flash: Driver's Licenses for Undocumented Immigrants Passes IL Senate

Chicagoland news to talk about: Illinois legislators among best paid in the country.

 

The Illinois state Senate voted on Tuesday to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain temporary drivers licenses, and sent to the House the measure that would make Illinois the most populous U.S. state to allow such licenses.

Only Washington state and New Mexico allow drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants, while Utah allows driving permits. Republican leaders in the Illinois state legislature earlier on Tuesday announced their support for the proposal, after Hispanics voted overwhelmingly for Democrats in the November election.

Illinois has some 2 million Hispanics, according to the 2010 Census, and lawmakers said there are an estimated 250,000 undocumented immigrants in the state.

Illinois’ legislators are among the highest paid lawmakers in the country, and their benefits include retiree healthcare and pensions valued at more than $1 million for the longest-serving incumbents, according to the Better Government Association examination of lawmakers’ annual payouts.

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Their annual salary is $67,836, but about three-fourths of General Assembly members also get additional cash compensation for leadership positions ranging from $10,327 for chairing a committee to $27,476 for a top General Assembly job.

In the current fiscal year, these leadership stipends boosted average pay to $77,382, according to data obtained by the BGA under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act from the Illinois Comptroller. In contrast, Illinois workers make an average $46,550, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Teachers in District 300 will head to the picket lines instead of their classrooms as LEAD 300 union officials hope it will be a short strike.

“I feel we are pretty close,” said Mike Williamson, LEAD spokesman. “I’m not sure they feel the same way. We’d like them to come and meet with us and quickly resolve this. Hopefully we won’t be out long.” Picket lines will be set up at the district’s high schools, including Jacobs High School in Algonquin and the district’s administrative offices in Carpentersville, he said.

Catherine McCann, a 92-year-old who has Alzheimer's disease and is unable to speak, was living at the Lutheran Home for the Aged in the suburb of Arlington Heights, Ill., at the time of the incident, CBS Chicago reports. Now the family is suing the nursing home for emotional distress and negligence. The infestation was documented by doctors at Northwest Community Hospital, who made a videotape of the scene before beginning extraction. The tape was so graphic, however, CBS declined to air it.

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That’s the same day a Highland Park resident reported a possible cougar sighting.  “I can definitely recognize a mountain lion,” veterinarian Bryan Haag, DVM, told Glencoe News Monday. “I’ve seen them before.”

Chicago Botanic Garden security investigated the incident but only found coyotes, Glencoe News reported. Similarly, Highland Park police did not find any tracks or other evidence confirming the identification of the animal when they investigated the possible cougar sighting.

Ditka will greet football fans, as well as wine fans, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the store, 8935 N. Milwaukee Ave., Niles. Ditka has paired with Terlato Wines International of Lake Bluff to create wines which reference different phases of his career, from player to Hall of Famer, according to Huffington Post. There are eight wines in the line, including chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, cabernet saugivnon and pinot noir.


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