Progress Illinois

The Illinois Coalition for Immigration and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) is lauding the Obama administration's decision today to hold the line on the cost of applying for citizenship at $675. ICIRR fought the Bush administration vigorously for hiking those fees, including a $275 increase in 2007. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will raise the cost of filing residency petitions for foreign skilled workers and foreign entrepreneurs.

At Chicago's McCormick Place this morning, over 100 religious leaders and hotel workers protested Hyatt Hotels' first annual shareholders meeting. The coalition urged the company, whose stock price has increased by 65 percent since it went public in November, not to cut back benefits for employees in Chicago still working without a contract. Robb Webb, chief human resources officer for Hyatt, met with the delegation and said the company is dedicated to protecting its workforce.

Chicago Ald. Anthony Beale (9th Ward), the lead promoter of a major South Side development project that includes a new Walmart store, told the Reader yesterday that he would not use a parliamentary maneuver to skip the Zoning Committee (where a vote has been delayed twice) and bring the proposal before the full City Council today. To bypass the committee -- a move supported by Mayor Daley -- two-thirds of the council would have to agree to the rare maneuver.

Gov. Pat Quinn says he hasn't yet reviewed controversial legislation that would fund a giant new entertainment and retail center in Marion using sales tax revenue (STAR) bonds. While he called it a "very important piece of legislation," he said he must first ensure the bill is "sound." Critics, including AFSCME Council 31, says the project would divert state tax revenue at the worst possible time for Illinois.