May 25th, 2011, 11:32am

State DREAM Act To Get Vote Today

The Illinois DREAM Act might finally see it’s fate today.

SB 2185 passed the state House executive committee on a party line vote of 7 to 4 on Tuesday. It’s now moved to the House floor for a vote, and Nathan Ryan of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) said the vote is likely to happen Wednesday.

The state House of Representatives has 64 Democrats and 54 Republicans set to cast their vote, so the bill is highly likely to pass with the 60 votes necessary --with or without the GOP on board. Still, ICIRR spokeswoman Cathy Salgado said advocates are seeking Republican support after the bill passed in the state Senate with a vote of 45-11 with overwhelming bi-partisan support -- something the Senate Republicans took heat for.

The state DREAM ACT establishes a privately-funded Illinois DREAM Fund for scholarships to “DREAM youthsâ€