IL HOUSE PASSES ILLINOIS DREAM ACT ON A BIPARTISAN VOTE

IL HOUSE PASSES ILLINOIS DREAM ACT ON A BIPARTISAN VOTE

ICIRR applauds both parties for supporting education for children of 
immigrants brought here without legal status by their parents

Springfield— Today, the Illinois DREAM Act (SB2185), legislation that 
would offer undocumented youth better access to higher education, passed 
in the Illinois House of Representatives on a bipartisan 60-54 vote. SB 
2185, sponsored in the House by Rep. Edward Acevedo, has the support of 
Cardinal George, 15 university presidents, and hundreds of other faith 
leaders, business leaders, and community organizations.

“Today’s bipartisan vote in the Illinois House is truly historic,” said 
Lawrence Benito, deputy director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant 
and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), who led the effort to win approval of the 
bill in the General Assembly. “This vote is a victory for our state and 
an important step forward in recognizing the contributions of immigrants.”

The Illinois DREAM Act will establish a privately-funded Illinois DREAM 
Fund, administered by a volunteer state commission, to make scholarships 
available to children of immigrants who graduate from Illinois high 
schools. It will also enable high school counselors and college 
admissions officers to be fully informed regarding educational 
opportunities for immigrant youth. The Illinois DREAM Act will impose no 
costs on Illinois taxpayers.
  After the federal DREAM Act failed in Congress last year, ICIRR, along 
with the Immigrant Youth Justice League (IYJL), member organizations, 
and allies, have worked to build broad support from religious and civic 
leaders, university presidents, and community organizations for the 
Illinois DREAM Act. Today, those efforts paid off, showing that Illinois 
is not only an immigrant-friendly state but also a national leader on 
moving fair, humane, and practical solutions forward.

The passage of this bill also shows the growing political power of 
immigrant communities. With the new Census numbers showing the increase 
of Asian and Latinos in the suburbs, the issues affecting these 
communities are being taken seriously by elected officials. This vote is 
very important for Latinos, immigrants, and their supporters, who will 
remember this vote in 2012.

ICIRR thanks Rep. Acevedo for his tireless work in getting the votes 
needed from both sides of the aisle to make the dreams of immigrant 
youth a reality. We also thank Senate President John Cullerton, the lead 
sponsor in the Senate, Speaker of the House Michael Madigan for truly 
supporting and getting the votes needed to pass this bill, and the 
Republican legislators who moved away from partisanship and towards 
solutions that will benefit our entire state.

We also thank Cardinal George and the other religious leaders as well as 
the 15 university presidents who lent their support, which had a 
powerful impact in winning over additional votes.

ICIRR also thanks Senator Richard Durbin for his leadership on this 
issue and Mayor Rahm Emanuel for standing with us in support of 
immigrants and undocumented youth.

The passage of SB 2185 adds to the list of victories that ICIRR has 
achieved in the past few months, including the termination of the Secure 
Communities program in Illinois and the creation of redistricting maps 
that will better reflect the diversity of our state and enable better 
representation for immigrant communities.

SB 2185 now moves to the desk of Governor Quinn, who will sign the bill 
as early as next week. ICIRR will celebrate the passage of the Illinois 
DREAM Act at its 25th anniversary that will take place on June 2nd at 
Galleria Marchetti (825 W. Erie St., Chicago) at 6pm.

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights is a state wide 
coalition of 138 organizations dedicated to promoting the rights of 
immigrants and refugees to full and equal participation in the civic, 
cultural, social, and political life of our diverse society.

For more information on the Illinois DREAM Act, contact Lawrence Benito 
at lbenito@icirr.org [1] or Catherine Salgado at csalgado@icirr.org [2]

A fact sheet of the IL DREAM Act here [3]