Thread: Survey: \Immigration big issue for Illinoisians

Survey: \Immigration big issue for Illinoisians

March 24, 2007
By Ben Lefebvre Staff Writer
It's a safe bet that the fifth page of the Illinois Policy Survey released recently by Northern Illinois University's Center for Government Studies holds nothing new for Carpentersville residents.

According to the survey of more than 1,200 Illinois residents age 18 or older, 32 percent said they consider illegal immigration a "big problem," with another 34 percent of respondents saying it is at least "somewhat" of a problem.

The Illinois Policy Survey, an annual report that measures opinions on such issues as the economy, education and other social issues, also asked people their opinion on making English an official government language.

Almost 70 percent of respondents said they think English should be designated the official language of Illinois. (They're in luck -- it was, in 1969). In the collar counties, 63 percent said it should be their local government's official language.

Two-thirds of respondents said businesses that hire illegal aliens should be punished.

The survey, conducted by telephone from November 2006 to January 2007, has a 3 percent margin of error.

Michael Peddle, associate professor of public administration at NIU and co-director of the survey, said the heat generated over the illegal-immigration issue caused the center to explore it further in this year's survey.

"I think the results are persuasive that people want something to be done," he said. "This has been on the local and state radar."

But amid the debate, there's also the question -- how big is "a big problem?"


Statewide solutions

Metro Chicago had more than 1.5 million foreign-born residents in 2005, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Studies published by groups such as the Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, an immigration policy group in Chicago, estimate there were about 400,000 undocumented immigrants from all countries throughout the entire state in 2005.
"I think everyone can agree that illegal immigration is a problem," said Fred Tsao, the coalition's policy director. The debate, he said, is "a matter of what we do, how we address the situation and how we address the people who are already here."

Case in point: The legislative proposals circulating around Carpentersville and other municipalities calling for English to be designated the official governmental language. Proponents of official English laws argue that cutting off foreign-language public services will force immigrants to learn English.

Others, such as Tsao, argue that it would instead further marginalize communities that already may feel cut off from the mainstream.

"The appropriate response is to provide resources to teach people English," he said. "But it comes down to whether there's going to be any money."

Tsao pointed to the so-called "We Want to Learn English" bill. As passed in the Illinois General Assembly, the bi-partisan bill allots $25 million for English as Second Language courses for low-income immigrant residents to be taught at churches, community centers and other local sites. Funding the program is another matter, however, as the bill is currently sitting in the appropriations committee.

Last year saw an explosion in immigration-related legislation around the country. According to the National Conference of State Legislators, 84 such bills were signed into law, more than double the amount of 2005.

Illinois last year passed laws requiring the deportation of undocumented immigrants found guilty of crimes and adopted five resolutions related to illegal immigration.

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once again and i can't say it enough. illinois is in major trouble, we are a sanctuary state we have illegals taking education, health care and corrections dollars from legal Americans... Mr obama is one of our senators he is open borders and has never voted for anything protecting us taxpayers. i for one having lived through his politics do not want him as president!!!