[Peace-discuss] ***Immigrant Rights: SB67 News and Action Alert***

[Brooke Anderson]

****IMMIGRANT RIGHTS NEWS and ACTION ALERT!****

Dear Friends,

Great News, and More Work to pass SB67...

On Nov 4th, Senator Rick Winkel voted in favor of SB 67, which grants
drivers licenses to hardworking tax paying Illinois residents who are
undocumented! (More info below message). His vote in support of this bill was
helped in part because of the pressure you placed upon him with an array of
phone calls to his office just days before the vote. Over 45 people called his
office over the course of 9 hours before the vote Nov 4th and the huge
outpouring of support for SB67 helped him to make the right vote!

Thank you so much for your work influencing Winkel to do what is right.

However, on November 4th, the Illinois Senate delayed the final vote on SB 67
by two weeks because they fell one or two votes short of passing it. The Bill
is being presented before the Senate once again this week, November 18 or
19th. Winkel has the opportunity to vote in favor of SB 67 again, but we must
thank him and ask for his support again! This is a very close vote, so every
vote is very important.  Two weeks ago it would have passed with 2 more YES
votes, Winkel's vote is crucial for this to pass...

Take Action Now:

Please Call Sen. Rick Winkel now (anytime) in Springfield at:

(217) 782-2507

Please call him to: THANK HIM FOR SUPPORTING SB 67 TWO WEEKS AGO, AND TO
CONTINUE HIS SUPPORT THIS WEEK WITH A YES VOTE on SB67.

Please email Lian at lianalan at uiuc.edu when you call so that we can keep a
tally of how many people have called him.

Keep up the Great Work!
Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride CU Organizers


HB 67 Fact Sheet:

This legislation would allow immigrants to get a drivers license in the
State of Illinois. Currently, all undocumented and some documented
immigrants cannot obtain drivers' licenses because they do not have social
security numbers. Allowing all Illinois residents to receive drivers
licenses would be a huge step forward for immigrant rights in our state,
and would allow both documented and undocumented people who are living
here, paying taxes, and contributing to our state to drive legally to and
from work, church, school, the hospital, or anywhere else they might want
or need to go!


For more info check out this website or the fact sheet below:
http://www.npolink.net/dat/pages/DL%20Fact%20SHEET.doc

Background Info on SB 67:

The Illinois Vehicle Code currently requires driver's license applicants
to present a Social Security number. This requirement severely hampers the
ability of about 300,000 Illinois residents to obtain valid driver's
licenses and purchase auto insurance, raising significant public safety
concerns affecting all highway users.


SB67 Makes Illinois Roads Safer

*Proper training and education in traffic safety for ALL drivers promotes
public safety.

*Encouraging compliance with state insurance and financial responsibility
laws decreases the number of uninsured motorists. Utah's percentage of
uninsured drivers has gone from 20% to less than 4% since it enacted
similar legislation in 1998.

*Accountability against those who break the laws of the road would be
strengthened.
*Law enforcement's and the court's ability to track repeat offenders would
be assured.
*Expanding access to driver's licenses curbs identity theft and corruption
at driver's license facilities.

SB67 Lowers Insurance Rates
*Uninsured drivers raise auto insurance costs for all drivers. According
to the Federal Highway Administration, 958,925 drivers in Illinois are
currently uninsured. Without a license, a motorist is ineligible for most
auto insurance.

*The National Association of Independent Insurers estimates that uninsured
motorists cost insured drivers in Illinois approximately $110 million
annually.

SB67 Tightens Licensing Requirements
*Extremely secure documentation, such as Individual Tax Identification
Number (ITIN) issued by the IRS would be required as a condition of
receiving driving privileges.

*Only individuals who are ineligible for a Social Security Number would be
allowed to use an alternate identifier. Thus, the Social Security Number
would not be eliminated as a requirement.

SB67 Augments National Security
*Law enforcement officials point out that the criminal warrant tracking
functions of Driver's Licenses are less useful if large portions of the
population are excluded from Driver's License databases.

*Denying licenses to those without Social Security Numbers creates a huge
illegal market for fraudulent identification. Terrorists with substantial
financial resources are likely able to obtain driver's licenses and other
documents when they find them necessary. Drying up the fake ID market
would make it more difficult for potential terrorists to obtain false
identification.
*The September 11 terrorists did not need U.S.-issued driver's licenses to
board airplanes; they had foreign passports that allowed them to board.
Those who did have driver's licenses obtained them using fraudulent SSNs
and other documents.

*A study recently conducted by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles
concluded that requiring drivers to provide Social Security Numbers would
do nothing to protect us against terrorism.

SB67 Benefits the Economy of Illinois
*Tennessee collects millions of dollars of additional revenue since
passing similar legislation in 2001.
-- 
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Brooke Anderson
Champaign County Health Care Consumers
44 E. Main St., Suite 208
Champaign, IL 61820
Phone = (217) 352-6533, x 17
Fax = (217) 352-9745
Email = brooke at shout.net
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