During a recent radio interview in which he offered his views about the just concluded state budget agreement, Illinois State Senator Steven Rauschenberger (R-Elgin) said the financial crisis was due in large part to Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s inability to “say no to anybody.” 

Both men, ironically, have the same problem when dealing with illegal aliens. During an economic trade agreement signing in December with Mexico at that country’s Chicago consulate, Blagojevich told an enthusiastic crowd that he supports drivers licenses for illegals because these folks need a means of “getting to their jobs” (that were stolen from Americans.)

Rauschenberger (e-mail him), who says he’s “90 percent sure” he will run for governor next year, supported legislation (now law) in 2003 that gives instate tuition to illegal aliens, and last month he voted for a bill that recognizes foreign ID cards like Mexico's matricula consular.  

With these two gifts to illegal aliens under his belt, Rauschenberger, the president-elect of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), now has set his sights on giving them drivers licenses.

In a February 3, 2005, letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Rauschenberger asked Hastert to oppose the REAL ID Act that President Bush recently signed into law.  REAL ID, in accordance with the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, requires applicants for drivers licenses to prove they are in the country lawfully.

In this letter, Rauschenberger uses faulty information to support his argument that suggests he is more concerned about the "rights" of illegal aliens than the people of Illinois.  A detailed rebuttal of the NCLS' pro-illegal alien agenda can be found in "Sorting Fact From Fiction.”

But the most egregious statement Rauschenberger makes in his letter is this:

"Laws in 10 states that license individuals regardless of immigration status have been shown to reduce unlicensed drivers and uninsured motorists . . ."

There have been no studies conducted to support Mr. Rauschenberger's claim, and it should be obvious to all that licensing illegal aliens is not the reason why states like Hawaii, Montana, and Wisconsin have lower rates of unlicensed and/or uninsured driving than, say, New York.  The claim becomes even more laughable in view of the facts.  Much of what little money illegals earn here is sent home in remittances.  Does anyone seriously believe that they would choose to spend what they retain on auto insurance rather than food and rent? 

I called the radio station where Rauschenberger was holding court and asked what his source was for this blatantly false statement. 

“The National Conference of State Legislatures,” he said, but he wouldn’t elaborate any further. Hmmmmmmmmmmm. 

Listeners during the next half hour heard Rauschenberger parrot the usual open-borders garbage. He opposes illegal immigration but, shucks, state and local governments must deal with the “reality” of a federal immigration policy that has really screwed things up. “Formalizing” the presence of the millions here illegally is, according to Rauschenberger, the only practical solution. 

This staunch advocate of tighter border security (“I supported the MinutemanProject”) explained his support for helping students here illegally by invoking the old saw (Yawn) that it’s not “fair to punish these kids” for their parents’ lousy attitude toward our laws and sovereignty. (He ignored my sarcastic observation that we are rewarding these parents who come here knowing full well that politicians like Rauschenberger are only too willing to forgive and forget.) As for his vote for foreign ID cards, well, “They help (Ha!) us to know who these people are.”  

Rauschenberger was given the last word, and he took the opportunity to again blast the READ ID for having “hijacked” the states’ ability to determine who should get drivers licenses. 

“I won’t support anything that strips away the sovereignty of the 50 states,” he said, apparently unaware that his voting record on immigration is doing just that.

It is critical that the people of Illinois - and the media - be aware of his position on an issue that will shape the future of our state and of the nation as a whole.  In a 1996 study, "Shaping Illinois: The Effects of Immigration - 1970-2020, The Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C., noted that in 1994 services being provided to illegal aliens was costing the taxpayers of Illinois $153.3 million annually.  At that time the number of illegals was estimated to be between 215,000-355,000; the Pew Hispanic Center estimated that the number hit 400,000 between 2002 and 2004.

Illegal aliens in Illinois - and the nation - have in Rauschenberger a good friend.  But the rest of us each year are having to dig deeper into our wallets to subsidize his politically motivated lovefest.