Cook County Board approves Arizona boycott, then....

[jamesw62]

Cook County Board approves Arizona boycott, then awards Arizona company red light contract


Posted by John Byrne and Hal Dardick at 2:57 p.m.

Cook County commissioners today approved a watered-down resolution boycotting Arizona businesses over an immigration law and then promptly signed off on a red light camera contract involving an Arizona company.

The seemingly contradictory votes cast doubt on how real the county's Arizona boycott is in practice.

First up at today's county board meeting was the Arizona boycott, drafted in response to that state's immigration crackdown that's garnered national attention.

As introduced last month, the boycott would have prohibited new contracts with Arizona-based companies. But the version approved today by a 10-6 vote directs the county to refrain from signing contracts with Arizona-based companies "refrain from, to the extent practicable, and in instances where there is no significant additional cost to the County nor conflict with law," until Arizona's immigration bill is repealed.

Commissioners who supported the measure described it as a civil liberties issue. The Arizona law requires police to check the documents of anyone they stop and suspect of being in the country illegally.

Later at the meeting, the board voted 10-3, with two members voting present, on a contract that will put red-light ticket cameras at intersections in unincorporated areas. Commissioners did so despite the fact that one of the companies getting the contract, American Traffic Solutions, is based in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Commissioner Edwin Reyes, who pushed the Arizona boycott resolution, voted present on the red light contract.

Posted at 02:58:13 PM in Cook County Board

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clo ... tract.html

[airdale]

Not boycott,buy cot.

[draindog]

crook county. wait till brady bags the gov seat. lots of heads will roll in illinois this november, times up i think. some illinoisans pay over 10k a year property taxes on a single family home, theres just no reason for it either.