At a packed Saturday rally on Chicago's West Side, a diverse roster of speakers urged Sen. Dick Durbin and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky to keep up the fight for immigration reform in Washington.  "Shake up your colleagues, both Democrats and Republicans," Billy Lawless of the Illinois Restaurant Association told Durbin.  "Get past the fear and the hate and the lies and get comprehensive immigration reform passed this year."  Josh Hoyt, director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (which organized the event), was equally direct with the Senate majority whip.  Calling him a "street fighter," Hoyt went on to say: "We push you hard because we love you."  And Instituto Del Progreso Latino's Juan Salgado summed up the impatience felt in the immigrant community: "Nobody will tell us to wait," he said. "The time for waiting is over! The time for action is now!"  Watch our video on the event below:

Numerous speakers highlighted former GOP Gov. Jim Edgar's comments on Thursday pushing the Illinois business community to get behind immigration reform.  Pat O'Connor, president of the Illinois Assocition of Chiefs of Police, also discussed how the fear of raids and deportation among the undocumented make local law enforcement more and more difficult. "If they are afraid to speak to us because of their legal status," he said, "then we cannot give them the protection they deserve."

Other speakers used their personal stories to put the fight in a more human context.  Pastor Walter Borhorquez, a Bolingbrook resident who works with the organization World Relief, described how an 18 year-old criminal conviction -- for which he served a two-year prison sentence -- has now put him at risk of being deported.  "I'm fighting to stay with my family," he told the crowd while the standing beside his children Johanan and Faith, ages 12 and 10. 

Meanwhile, 18-year-old Reyna Wences, a member of the Immigrant Youth Justice League (more about them here), spoke out in support of Sen. Durbin's Dream Act, which would provide a path to citizenship for undocumented students who were brought to the U.S. illegally at a young age.  But she also pointed out the need for broader immigration reforms.  "Don't make us choose between our parents' freedom and our own.  Don't make us choose between our parents' happiness and our own.  What am I supposed to tell my mother if Dream passes and [comprehensive immigration reform] doesnt?"

Finally, Sen. Durbin took the podium and reasserted his support for the Dream Act, which he first proposed ten years ago: "I will not rest until it becomes the law of the land."  He also reflected on the recent, lengthy fight over health care.  He praised President Barack Obama's determination in that legislative struggle and added, "We need that same determination to pass comprehensive immigration reform this year. ... In the name of all who fight for social justices.  In the name of all the families who go to bed with tears in their eyes, facing deportation and separation -- in their name we cannot fail.  We must pass comprehensive immigration reform.  We must pass it this year.  We must come together as nation.  We must get this through."

Illinois' own Rep. Luis Gutierrez, who introduced his comprehensive immigration reform bill earlier this year, was unable to attend because he was speaking at a similar rally in Las Vegas, Nevada.  At that event, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid echoed Durbin's comments, saying: "We're going to do this this year.  We cannot wait."

Those in Chicago wishing to show their support for the immigration reform movement should mark Saturday, May 1 on their calendars.  At 1 p.m., a May Day march in support of immigrant workers will start at Union Park (1501 W. Randolph) and head into the Loop.

Here are some photos we took at the Saturday event: