SANCTUARY COUNTY

Hmm, I wonder if the Cook County commissioners who voted for this sanctuary ordinance are having their lawns mowed and their homes cleaned by illegals from Mexico?

RELEASED ILLINOIS MAN WAS JAILED FOR HITTING COP
A county ordinance said his immigration status meant release

By Lisa Donovan

Chicago Sun-Times
September 10, 2011

CHICAGO — Eduardo E. Sanchez blew a red light and then punched and elbowed a police officer who arrested him - sending the officer to the hospital earlier this week, authorities said.

But after being charged with a felony and several traffic offenses, the 32-year-old Southwest Side man posted 10 percent of his $25,000 bond and walked out of Cook County Jail on Wednesday, thanks to an hours-old ordinance passed by Cook County commissioners.

While federal authorities had requested the sheriff's office hold Sanchez for up to 48 hours after he posted bond, the new county ordinance instructs the sheriff to disregard those requests and release suspected illegal immigrants like anyone else who posts bond.

While immigration advocates are hailing the new ordinance as a step toward equal treatment under the law, one Cook County Commissioner says Sanchez's release underscores his concern that suspected felons - not just those arrested on minor misdemeanor charges - can now avoid federal authorities seeking to deport them.

"If you listened to the debate, many commissioners believed this did not affect individuals charged with serious offenses," Cook County Commissioner Timothy Schneider said. "But that's not the case."

Cook County Commissioner Joan Murphy on Thursday went as far as to say she "misspoke" when she earlier declared that only those locked up on misdemeanors would be affected. "It's a misdemeanor - it's nothing, this is the people that we're talking about that are going to be released, not anyone that has a felony," Murphy said at Wednesday's meeting.

"That's not what I meant," Murphy said Thursday. "The point is that the majority are being held for misdemeanors."