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IL ESL funding dwindling After 20 years of sporadic English classes, Esperanza Marrufo still stumbles over the language, exasperated when unable to find the right word. 'Part of my problem is ... I can't express myself!' said Marrufo, 43, in her native Spanish. 'I want to keep practicing so I can enter fully into American society.' Though that desire is shared by thousands of immigrants -- even as critics often chastise them for not integrating quickly enough -- opportunities to learn English are harder to come by in Illinois, according to a study released Monday. The Chicago Tribune

IL police dept expands outreach to foreigners Round Lake Park police are about to start a program designed to make local immigrants who aren't fluent in English more comfortable approaching law-enforcement authorities. Under the initiative starting May... 17 gang members arrested in IL Chicago -- Federal immigration agents in Chicago arrest 17 immigrants with alleged ties to violent street gangs. The two-day operation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents targeted Chicago's... Illegal sentenced for IL DUI accident Norridge police announced the sentencing of a Chicago man in connection with an August 2008 accident. A posting on Norridge's Web site states Mateo Ortiz was sentenced to five years...

More Illinois Immigration News

IL county sheriff defies sanctuary laws

Dozens of U.S. municipalities have declared themselves sanctuaries for undocumented immigrants. A Cook County declaration bans the Sheriff's Office from assisting with an investigation of someone's immigration status. The stated goals are to build trust in local law enforcement and...
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Immigration was key issue in suburban Chicago race

Chicago -- The mayor-elect of a North Shore suburb said Wednesday that he would drop many restrictions against illegal immigrants imposed by his predecessor. 'The current mayor was not open to listening to what the community really needed,' said Robert...
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Chicago restrictionist loses U.S. House bid

Chicago (AP) -- Democrat Mike Quigley knows that for at least a little while he'll be known as the guy who replaced Rahm Emanuel, President Barack Obama's chief of staff, in Congress. But Quigley, the reform-minded Cook County commissioner who...
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IL special election features pro-enforcement Minuteman candidate

Voters in 5th District head to the polls Tuesday Chicago Pride, April 6, 2009 Chicago, IL - Voters prepare to head to the polls Tuesday for a special general election to determine a replacement for Rahm Emanuel in the 5th...
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IL Rep. brings pro-amnesty campaign to Philadelphia

Philadelphia - Supporters of granting amnesty to illegal aliens saw their fortunes dissolve in 2007 as Congress failed to pass it, but an Illinois congressman tried reviving the issue during a local appearance Saturday as part of his national campaign...
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IL Rep. targets foreign gang members for deportation

Congressman Mark Kirk says thousands of gang members being held in U.S. prisons are undocumented immigrants. Kirk says this costs taxpayers more than a billion dollars a year. So he's proposing the Gang Removal Act which would require that gang...
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IL Rep. 'the voice' of national amnesty movement

Milwaukee -- Rosa Bautista has been raising her four children on her own since immigration authorities arrested and deported her husband two years ago. 'They were there. They saw it. They were crying,' she said. 'It's just hard.' Bautista shared...
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Chicago forum presses for amnesty policies

Rosa Bautista broke into tears as she told a standing-room-only crowd of nearly 1,000 who filled St. Adalbert's Catholic Church on Sunday afternoon about how the father of her four children had been deported to Mexico City. She's a U.S....
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IL Representative leads national amnesty campaign

Inside an Albany Park church on Saturday, Cardinal Francis George is expected to publicly urge the Obama administration to end immigration raids across the country, part of a renewed push for federal immigration reforms that has been gaining steam. This...
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