By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – Hundreds of millions of dollars for health care for undocumented immigrants in Illinois is not only out of control, it’s insane, said Illinois Senate Republicans at a Capitol news conference Thursday.
Would asking Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to stop sending migrants to Illinois be a good start?
Abbott is “only sending people to the states that are inviting them,” said State Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Cherry Valley), referring to Chicago and Illinois being “sanctuary” and “welcoming” entities.
“Gov. Abbott is the one who declared himself a sanctuary state,” added State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet). “Gov. Abbott is the one who declared the mayor of Chicago a sanctuary city, okay? Gov. (JB) Pritzker did, (Chicago) Mayor (Brandon) Johnson’s predecessor did. They’re all saying, come on! But when it comes down to having the courage of their convictions, (they’re saying) ‘Oh, wait a minute! Don’t come here. Oh, never mind, we didn’t really mean that. Don’t come here!”
The costs are approaching $1 billion.
After the news conference, Pritzker’s office issued the following statement:
“Healthcare for undocumented residents was created and passed by members of the General Assembly based on cost estimates from the advocacy organizations that pushed for this program. The Pritzker Administration has worked to rein in the rising costs of the program to fit within the appropriation limits set by the General Assembly and we will continue to ensure this program does not exceed the costs lawmakers appropriate for it.”
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