Buried in hard-copy Chi Trib: I-D card good for voting by non-citizens

I’ve heard Rush Limbaugh say that Dems want illegals because they can count on their votes. That’s a stretch, I thought. Now I don’t think it’s a stretch at all, because of this story buried in our Sunday paper. It pays to look!

Municipal ID cards that Mayor Rahm Emanuel is launching for undocumented immigrants and others will be a valid form of identification for people both registering to vote and voting in Chicago, according to a letter aldermen received Friday.

Clerk Anna Valencia, who’s heading up the CityKey program, cited state election rules to explain why the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners will accept the card.

“The Illinois Election Code requires the Board of Elections to accept current, valid photo identification cards and other local governmental documentation that includes an individual’s name and address, as proof of identity and residency,” Valencia’s letter reads in part. “The CityKey fits both of these requirements.”

There you go. Clerk Valencia’s argument/explanation for those who thought non-citizenship was a non-starter when it comes to voting:

Valencia’s letter [announcing the card] notes that voters currently aren’t required to prove they are American citizens under state law. They simply must attest to their citizenship.

Valencia spokeswoman Kate LeFurgy said the clerk’s office consulted with city elections officials before determining the cards pass muster as one of the many types of identification that can be used as voter ID.

And you thought voter-ID was a way to prevent voter fraud, when actually it’s a facilitator — in Chicago, where fast-talk wins the day.

But worry not:

“We want to underscore that if you are undocumented, it is illegal to vote even with any of the documents accepted as proof of identity or residency under the Illinois Election Code — everything from a debit card, utility bill or union card,” LeFurgy said in an email.

Well. For a minute there, I was worried. But wait.

Valencia has said [apparently on another occasion] the city will make the municipal card appealing to people other than those who have trouble getting state ID cards — such as those in the country illegally, homeless people and those recently released from prison. But it’s still unclear exactly what types of broader benefits the ID will provide.

You see, the cards were for getting at broader benefits, as an alderman questioning the use as voter I-D, said.

“This was portrayed to us as a way for people to get basic services,” said Ald. Anthony Napolitano, 41st. “This is exactly what we were concerned about and we raised those concerns with the clerk. I know I have colleagues who would not be on board with this.”

One would think so.