Near Broke Cook County Has Money For Cook County ID card proposed for people living in the U.S. illegally as city tries its own

The Chicago Tribune reports:

Cook County officials on Wednesday set out to create a county ID card for people living in the U.S. illegally and others, even as Mayor Rahm Emanuel presses ahead with his own plans to offer a city ID.

County Commissioners Jesus "Chuy" Garcia and John Fritchey contended a single county-level card for government services makes more sense than a city one because Chicago is in Cook County.

Garcia, who lost to Emanuel in the 2015 mayoral runoff election, said the need for a county ID is obvious given the millions of people who live outside the city. "While we applaud the efforts of the city of Chicago in issuing a municipal ID, approximately 2.4 million residents of Cook County do not have access at this time to such a card," he said.

But Emanuel has staked his tough-guy stand against President Donald Trump in part on the success of the city ID, which City Clerk Anna Valencia hopes to begin issuing this year. It's been part of Emanuel's outreach to Chicago's sizable Latino community since the mayoral election.

Garcia also took aim at Trump during a news conference to announce the ID proposal. "In the dark climate of xenophobia and divisiveness at the national level, here at Cook County we can choose to be inclusive and welcoming," he said.

Like the municipal ID, the county card would be a way for people living in the country illegally, homeless people and others who don't have state IDs to prove their identities in government agencies like public hospitals and police stations. Garcia and Fritchey said they will introduce an ordinance to the county board this month, and Fritchey they hope to begin issuing the IDs early in 2018 if the plan is approved.

Cook County gets into the federal immigration business.