A bill aimed at clearing a path for recipients of the federal DACA program to become police officers is moving through Springfield.
The Illinois Capitol building in Springfield is seen on Jan. 6, 2022.
“Unfortunately, it’s strictly symbolic,” state Rep. John Cabello, a Republican from Machesney Park who is a detective with the Rockford Police Department, said of the bill. “It doesn’t do anything until the feds do something about the federal law.”State Rep. John Cabello, seen outside the Bank of Springfield Center as members of the Illinois House of Representatives meet on May 20, 2020, is a detective with the Rockford Police Department.
“I just want a small door for a certain group of people to be able to carry a gun. I’m not saying all undocumented people. I’m just saying if you apply and you are accepted, let’s give you a chance to own, to carry or possess a gun,” Hernandez said. “And maybe what the federal government can say is once you retire, or once you’re out of the job for whatever reason, you don’t have that ability anymore.
The legislation passed 101-0 in the Illinois House on March 24 and is now before the Senate, where it already has two sponsors. Farr acknowledged that those officers would not be allowed to take their guns home with them. Farr said hiring DACA recipients still could help his department because about half of Blue Island’s population is Hispanic, and he doesn’t have many Spanish-speaking officers.“It, at times, is difficult to provide the services to the community without being able to communicate with them,” Farr said.
The need for more police led to a rare show of bipartisanship on a public safety issue in the General Assembly, which is often deeply divided on that topic, when the DACA bill was being crafted.
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