Sheriff Mark Curran gave a press conference Thursday where he took Chicago politicians to task for ignoring the problem of crime committed by illegal aliens [Lake Co. sheriff says 21.5% of jail inmates illegal immigrants, Daily Herald, Sept 18, 2008].

A recent audit of the Lake County jail found that 21.5 percent of the prisoners were in this country illegally, Sheriff Mark Curran said Thursday.

Renewing his call for stepped-up deportation of illegal immigrants who commit crimes, Curran said they are charged with half of the 14 murders in the county so far this year.

"You cannot fight for crime victims and ignore the illegal immigration problem," Curran said. "You cannot pretend to care about all the children that die from gang and gun violence and ignore the illegal immigration problem." [...]

"The City of Chicago as well as the State of Illinois have shown little interest in cooperating with ICE," Curran said. "Choosing instead to ignore the problem or to pander to special interest groups or their sympathizers."

You can thank Sheriff Curran for his forthright defense of public safety via email: [email protected]. I did.