State law helps Cook County expand immigrant legal defense fund

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Legislation from the Illinois General Assembly has opened the door for Cook County to fund immigrants’ legal services with additional county taxpayer dollars.

Last Thursday, the Cook County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a $10.12 billion budget for fiscal year 2026.

County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said the spending plan adds seven positions to the immigration division in the public defender’s office.

“This expansion will allow the public defender to broaden outreach and respond to more cases that come into the Family Support Network hotline and the Midwest Immigration Defenders Alliance hotline, the region’s primary entry point for legal service requests,” Preckwinkle said.

The longtime board president said the move allows the county to provide robust legal services for detained individuals.

“Supporting this work will keep families together and prevent asylum seekers, longtime community members, from being deported based on unlawful or unconstitutional government actions,” Preckwinkle said.

Gabriella Hoxie is a Republican candidate for Cook County commissioner in the county’s 15th District. Hoxie said the spending is inappropriate after most Cook County residents just got the highest property tax bills they’ve ever seen.

“There was sticker shock across the county. People don’t know how to pay their property tax bills. I think that money would have been better spent going towards some sort of property tax relief plan that could have been created. I think that would have really helped out our residents more than expanding this service that would go only toward noncitizens,” Hoxie told The Center Square.

The Illinois General Assembly created a path for the Cook County Public Defender’s Office to represent immigrants involved in removal proceedings in Cook County by passing House Bill 2790 in 2021.

On Feb. 3 of this year, state Rep. Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, filed House Bill 2436 to give the Cook County Board the authority to allow its public defender’s office to provide representation outside of Cook County.

HB 2436 took effect immediately on Aug. 15, the day Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed it into law.

Gong-Gershowitz said last week that the expansion ensures that immigrant residents of Cook County do not lose access to legal representation if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement transfers them across state lines.

“It gives the Cook County public defender the flexibility to continue representing clients even when ICE detains them out of state, providing continuity that is essential to achieving justice. No one should lose their lawyer because of a bus ride ordered by a federal agency,” Gong-Gershowitz said.

Another GOP candidate for commissioner in Cook County’s 15th District, Daniel Lee, said county officials should not be doubling their efforts to defend illegal migrants in their deportation cases.

“Is it really time for us to spend that kind of money on that while we’re being inefficient in our county operations such as being over three months late on tax bill?” Lee told The Center Square.

Ninth District Cook County Commissioner candidate Ammie Kessem works in law enforcement and said everyone has a right to a fair trial.

“My main concern is to make sure that American citizens that pay taxes are not going to have to unnecessarily carry the burden of this. At the same time, I do believe that every person has the right to legal representation and upholding our Constitution,” Kessem told The Center Square.

Preckwinkle said the new county budget does not include tax increases, fee hikes or layoffs.

According to a statement from Cook County government, the county closed a $211.4 million projected budget gap through a combination of higher-than-expected revenue collections such as sales taxes. The county also decreased hospital expenditures by increasing turnover rates to align with actual hiring timeframes and further implementation of a strategic hiring plan.

The fiscal year 2026 budget includes a 0.9% hiring increase from the fiscal 2025 adopted budget.

All fiscal 2026 budget information is now posted to the Cook County website.