WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

Cook County officials are voicing mixed reactions to an extraordinary U.S.

A debate about a Cook County ordinance that frees some inmates wanted by immigration authorities could get hotter. At its meeting Wednesday, the County Board agreed to consider two proposed amendments that would scale back the ordinance.

A new Cook County ordinance that touches the hot-button issue of immigration is allowing inmates out of the county’s jail and making waves in other parts of the country.The ordinance, approved Wednesday by the County Board, halts compliance with Immigration and Customs Enforcement requests that cert

Cook County commissioners on Wednesday could take center stage in the nation’s immigration debate if they enact a proposal that would begin freeing some jail inmates wanted by federal authorities.The measure requires the sheriff to decline Immigration and Customs Enforcement requests known as detain

Legislation that would have required Cook County to free some jail inmates wanted by immigration authorities is dead for now. Commissioner Jesús García, D-Chicago, withdrew his bill at Wednesday’s County Board meeting. “We want to rethink it,” he said afterwards.