The Daily Northwestern Thursday, January 26, 2017
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Sanctuary cities to lose federal funds Trump signs order that could cut city’s federal funding By NORA SHELLY
daily senior staffer @noracshelly
President Donald Trump issued an executive order Wednesday to pull most federal funding from sanctuary cities, putting Evanston at risk of losing federal grant money. The order follows through on a promise Trump made during his campaign to crack down on sanctuary cities, which are municipalities that refuse to cooperate with immigration authorities. The move was first announced at a news conference with Press Secretary Sean Spicer, who said the administration is going to “strip federal grant money” from sanctuary cities and states. “The American people are no longer going to have to be forced to subsidize this disregard for our laws,” he said. Trump then signed the executive order at the Department of Homeland Security. It alleges sanctuary jurisdictions “willfully violate Federal law” by not cooperating with immigration authorities. It also prohibits sanctuary cities from receiving federal grant money “except as deemed necessary for law enforcement purposes by the Attorney General or the Secretary.” The order also calls for the Office of Management and Budget to provide information on federal grants received by any sanctuary city or state and orders the deportation of any undocumented immigrant living in the country who has been charged or convicted of a crime, or has “abused any program related to receipt of public benefits.”Trump also signed an executive order authorizing the construction of a Mexican border wall on Wednesday. Evanston clarified its status as a sanctuary city in December by passing a “welcoming city” ordinance, which prohibits
city officials — including police officers — from inquiring about someone’s legal status. Additionally, it does not require Evanston Police Department to detain people for immigration officials unless they have been charged with a serious crime. In the months since, Evanston/ Skokie School District 65 and Evanston Township High School District 202 boards have passed “safe haven” resolutions, which prohibit school officials from inquiring about the legal status of students or parents. Additionally, Northwestern officials have reiterated support for the protection of undocumented students. City manager Wally Bobkiewicz said there was no rough estimate on how much money Evanston receives through federal grants, and it is not yet clear which grants will be at stake. Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl, who pushed aldermen to take action on the “welcoming city” ordinance last year, issued a statement on Thursday saying Evanston would stand behind the ordinance. “I am troubled by the Executive Order issued by the President today regarding Sanctuary Cities,” she said in the statement. “I support the rights of all our residents, including immigrants, to live their lives in our community safely and without fear. (Evanston) will continue to work to welcome all people to our community.” Tisdahl has previously stood behind the ordinance. Before the “welcoming city” ordinance was passed in December, Tisdahl told The Daily she was going to ask other mayors to consider declaring themselves a “sanctuary city.” “I don’t want to lose that money, and I don’t want to abandon our residents who are immigrants,” she said in November. “Once we tighten up our language, I think there’s strength in numbers.” Chicago is also a declared sanctuary city. Mayor Rahm Emanuel said at a news conference the city would not change its policy in light of the executive order. norashelly2019@u.northwestern. edu
Marcel Bollag/The Daily Northwestern
Richard Baehr, chief political correspondent for American Thinker, speaks at an event hosted by College Republicans and the Tannenbaum Chabad House. Baehr discussed the role of Israel and Palestine following Trump’s inauguration and the roles of previous administrations in the region.
Pundit discusses future of Israel Richard Baehr contemplates changes to come under Donald Trump By JAKE HOLLAND
the daily northwestern @jakeholland97
Political correspondent Richard Baehr spoke Wednesday about the future of Israel after the election of President Donald Trump and the differences between the Obama administration and Trump administration in their attitudes toward Israel. Baehr, who is the chief political correspondent for American Thinker, also spoke about the
role of Trump’s advisers in shaping policy at the event co-hosted by College Republicans and the Tannenbaum Chabad House.The discussion also explored the history of Israel and Palestine. Rabbi Dov Hillel Klein, a co-organizer of the event, said he invited Baehr to speak at the event because of Baehr’s involvement researching the conflict and its implications on Trump’s presidency. “(It’s) important as we’re transitioning to a new administration to really understand what that
administration is doing vis-à-vis the peace process,” Klein said. However, until Palestine acknowledges the existence of Israel as a sovereign state, it is impossible to conduct bilateral talks or reach a solution, Baehr said. He told The Daily that Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and other Palestinian politicians have grown so entrenched in their resistance to Israel that a two-state solution –– or any solution –– seems out of reach. “You have to understand how the other side views the conflict
and … put yourself in their shoes and understand why they’re willing or not willing to do a deal,” Baehr said. He said one major difference between the Obama and Trump administrations is a change in attitude toward Israel. While Obama sent clear signals by placing his first call as president to Abbas, Trump is more likely to embrace Israel like former presidents, he said. Though he is “unsure” what » See REPUBLICANS, page 6
Rauner delivers annual state address By BILLY KOBIN
daily senior staffer @billy_kobin
Gov. Bruce Rauner said he remains optimistic about the future of Illinois, but acknowledged various issues that plague the state in his third State of the State address Wednesday. Speaking in Springfield, Rauner highlighted the bipartisan efforts of the past two years
that he said have led to improvements in areas ranging from ethics reform to government transparency to transportation. Illinois still does not have a budget for 2017, however, and has not had a full-year operating budget for 19 months, which the Republican governor said continues to hurt the state and its schools, human service providers, workers and employers. “We have more than $11 billion in unpaid bills, a $130
billion unfunded pension liability and the worst credit rating in the nation,” Rauner said. “We’ve been at the bottom for far, far too long. It’s time we race to the top.” Rauner said leaders from both political parties agree on the need to reach a budget deal and praised state senators and leaders for their work on trying to reach a budget deal. “Our state’s economy could take off like a rocketship if we
could just come together on major pro-jobs changes that need legislation to take effect,” he said. Still, he said Illinois has moved to improve ethics and transparency in government as well as reduce the state’s “bloated bureaucracy and worstin-the-nation 7,000 units of local government.” Rauner urged lawmakers, as » See STATE, page 6
ASG Senate confirms nominations of 2 new vice presidents By JONAH DYLAN
the daily northwestern @thejonahdylan
Allie Goulding/The Daily Northwestern
Senators discuss changes to the ASG election guidelines. One possible change includes moving back the election commission elections to the third week of Winter Quarter.
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Associated Student Government unanimously confirmed the nominations of two vice presidents at Senate on Wednesday. Weinberg junior Parth Lalkiya and Medill junior Alecia Richards, who had been nominated by the selection committee, were confirmed to the positions of vice president for B-status finances and vice president for public relations, respectively.
Lalkiya previously worked with the B-status Finances Committee. He said one of his primary goals as vice president is to increase communication between group executives and the student groups they fund to ensure that groups receive the correct amount of money for their events. “I hope to gain more experience with the funding process (and) streamline the funding process to make it easier for the groups here,” he said. Lalkiya said he wants to address the considerable amount
of money that gets tied up when student groups apply for funding but don’t end up using the money they receive. He said this process ultimately prevents ASG from assisting other student groups which need funding. Speaker of the Senate Nehaarika Mulukutla, a Weinberg junior, told The Daily that Parth has a lot of great ideas on how to improve B-status funding. “Every BSVP comes in with this idea of how they want to make the funding process fairer and more communicative to all
of the various student groups,” she said. “He’s super great about developing concrete action plans to put in place in order to accomplish (his) goals.” Richards was confirmed as vice president for public relations after Weinberg senior Ajay Nadig resigned earlier this quarter. She said one of her goals is to get more people involved in student government. “I’m always looking for ways to better things, engage people in ASG, increase transparency » See ASG, page 6
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