The Illinois Senate Tuesday approved drivers' licenses for immigrants who came to the U-S illegally. The legislation has bipartisan support.
The day began with some of Illinois' top Republicans holding a news conference to proclaim their support for the driver's licenses. By the afternoon, the Senate had approved them on a vote of 41 to 14. Just one lawmaker, Republican Chris Lauzen of Aurora, spoke against the measure in debate, saying it was wrong to grant driving privileges to people who'd broken the law in coming to the U.S. Other Republicans were more conciliatory, framing the issue as a matter of highway safety.
That includes State Senator Bill Brady of Bloomington.
The fact of the matter is there is a cost to society when we have uninsured, untrained and untested drivers. They are not going to self-deport. The federal government is not going to deport them. They are here. We have to try to find some resolution to this.
The visitor licenses would have a purple banner declaring that they're not a form of identification. That's so they can't be used to purchase firearms, check into a hotel, board an airplane, or vote. Governor Pat Quinn supports the measure, but it still needs approval in the Illinois House.
See how your State Senator voted here: http://ilga.gov/legislation/votehistory/97/senate/09700SB0957_12042012_008000T.pdf
