Clearly, it is an election year. We are seeing the ramping up of divisive rhetoric and fearmongering aimed at the easy target of vulnerable immigrants. Former President Donald Trump is busy sabotaging months of work by a bipartisan group of senators trying to develop tough measures to address chaos at the border. Here in Illinois, the state and the city of Chicago struggle with the manufactured crisis of a rapid influx of some 32,000 recent migrants, mainly from Venezuela. These migrants have been shipped to Illinois by Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas using tax dollars and with the apparent intent of creating chaos in the lead-up to the Democratic National Convention.
And now Illinois Senate Minority Leader John Curran has joined the election-year demagoguery with his Tribune op-ed “Gov. Pritzker invited, then mismanaged migrant crisis” (Jan. 30). Sadly, what gets lost in the election-year posturing are actual bipartisan solutions, as well as the health and safety of immigrants.
So let’s start with facts. There is no denying that the crisis at our southern border is causing hardships for many states and that our federal government must find a way to gain control over this humanitarian crisis. There is also no denying that the solutions must be the product of bipartisan negotiations. Abbott’s decision to weaponize migrant flows began prior to his own reelection campaign in 2022, and a surge in buses to Illinois came after the DNC announcement. Texas has refused to coordinate bus arrivals with our officials. Elected officials including Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Lori Lightfoot and Mayor Brandon Johnson, together with other leaders, have worked heroically to respond to this crisis.
However, addressing this challenge does not have to mean taking a step backward in how we treat immigrants. Over the past 30 years, Republican governors and Democratic governors have supported measures to provide health care, education and legal driver’s licenses to immigrants. Many of these immigrants have been here, paying taxes and fueling our economy, for 10, 20, even 30 years.
These workers in our state pay tens of millions of dollars in taxes every year. They are our neighbors. Their children are our children’s classmates. They are the skilled workers our businesses desperately need. We should appreciate their contributions. Long-term immigrants without documentation should be provided the same legal status and work permits that other refugees and migrants are receiving. These are commonsense measures taken for the good of Illinois with the support of Democrats and Republicans.
— Sam Scott, board member, and Rebecca Shi, executive Director, American Business Immigration Coalition
Attempt to scapegoat families
The recent op-ed by Illinois Senate Republican leader John Curran railing on immigrant services and programs is just an attempt to scapegoat families across the state and neglects to mention the root causes of what Chicagoland and Illinois more broadly are facing. It’s a typical attempt to distract us from the real issue by pitting some Illinoisans against other Illinoisans rather than proposing solutions.
By placing blame squarely on Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Curran fails to acknowledge Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the harmful, partisan game that he is playing by putting real people in the middle of a manufactured political crisis. He also fails to acknowledge the global impact of policies that drive people to migrate in search of safety and opportunity. Conveniently, he overlooks the history of Illinois Republicans who have supported measures that protect immigrant families, including Gov. Bruce Rauner, who signed the TRUST Act in 2017.
The programs that Curran so badly wants to eliminate offer assistance to Illinoisans regardless of immigration status, which have been a lifeline to many families like my own. My organization in Bolingbrook has helped hundreds of families speaking 12 languages across the southwest suburbs, including many who are Curran’s constituents. We have assisted our community members with interpretation, health care enrollment, citizenship education and more. Curran should remember that he represents everyone in his district, including those of us who cannot vote but who pay sales, income and property taxes just like everyone else. Allow me to emphasize that Illinois taxpayers include immigrants.
Immigrant families deserve safety and opportunity just like all people, and Illinois should be proud of its history as one that both welcomes newcomers and lends a helping hand. Additionally, seeking asylum is a legal right in the United States, and new arrivals deserve an opportunity to make a living wherever they choose. To be sure, Illinois can still take steps to lift up everyone across the state including migrants who want to call our state home for the long term.
As potential support from the federal government for the arriving migrants remains mired in partisan gridlock, it is all the more critical for the state of Illinois to invest in social service infrastructure that benefits all communities. Cutting back on programs like Curran and other Illinois Republicans propose, is a major step in the wrong direction and won’t even begin to fix the issue.
— Elizabeth Cervantes, co-founder and director of organizing, Southwest Suburban Immigrant Project
Paraprofessionals poorly paid
I hope that the article by Zareen Syed published on Jan. 30, “’A slap in the face,’” opens up the eyes of many to the minimal compensation received by paraprofessionals in our local school systems. The individuals in these roles are significantly underpaid and no doubt unappreciated as the members of their local school boards who negotiate the union contracts for support staff members aren’t easily convinced to give them significant raises in line with their duties and market pay.
Perhaps it is time that the unions consider striking instead of accepting a measly 50-cent annual hourly increase (or the like) from their local school boards! Let the schools get a taste of paying a temp agency up to $65 an hour for each temporary paraprofessional they need to hire especially to meet their legal responsibility to provide paraprofessionals to students with an individualized education plan.
It is no surprise that Crystal Lake District 47 found itself without a sufficient number of paraprofessionals to work this school year. Why would someone work the entire school day with those responsibilities for only $16.14 an hour and an unaffordable health insurance plan? Oh, but wait, if they stick around until next year, they will be making $16.54.
I can see why these individuals would opt for other full-time jobs — they don’t have to worry about getting spit on, slapped or insulted and can get a higher hourly wage and maybe even affordable health insurance.
— Karen Stahlecker, Naperville