Community Alert: DREAM Act Passes the House!

DREAM Act Passes Ill. House, Will Go to Gov. Quinn for Signing

CAIR-Chicago would like to congratulate all those who worked tirelessly to get the DREAM Act (SB2185) passed.

Because of the community and all the organizations that worked together, according to ICIRR, over 19,393 letters and phone calls flooded into Springfield over the past few weeks. Our legislators voted yesterday to pass the bill that will grant undocumented immigrants whose parents brought them to the U.S. as children the right to better access to higher education here in Ill.

The measure, which passed the House with a bipartisan 61-53 vote, will create a fund established through private donations and be managed by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to provide financial assistance to undocumented students in Illinois. The bill also allows families of the students to participate in the state's college tuition savings programs.

The bill passed the Senate earlier this month, and all the organizations who have been working for years to get this measure passed, geared up for the final push through the House this week.

"CAIR-Chicago applauds the Ill. House in passing a significant and extraordinary bill that lays the groundwork for national comprehensive immigration reform. Ensuring education and the option to serve our nation in the armed forces and civic groups stays true to our history and promise of offering opportunities to a nation made of immigrants," said CAIR-Chicago Outreach Coordinator Gerald Hankerson.

The bill will be sent to Gov. Quinn to be signed, which he has promised to do.

“I believe everyone has the right to a first-class education, and the Illinois DREAM Act strengthens Illinois’ commitment to ensuring education for all," Quinn said. "The legislation allows private funding to be used to help students pay for higher education and to train high school counselors to assist undocumented children to forward their educational careers.”