The Catalyst - Waukegan

Time and time again we see cause-and-effect in regards to local efforts to control illegal aliens. Usually it is more than just frustration over Congress. And usually it isn’t because of the tax bill arriving at the house.

No, usually someone has to die. That’s what happened in Hazleton PA. The same thing happened in Allen County Ohio. People die at the hands of illegal aliens and the local politicians wake up.

Well, no one can say for sure what is going on in the minds of the Waukegan city fathers, but I think this story has something to do with their strong resolve.

At around 10 pm on a rainy Super Bowl Sunday 2005, a gentleman pulled out of the Laundromat parking lot into traffic. His car was T-boned by a police car. It was determined that the police car was going 40 mph in a 30 mph zone. According to witnesses there were no lights, no siren. The witnesses also said the officer was going with the flow of traffic.

The gentleman died a few hours later. His name was Wilson Lopez-Ochoa. He was from Honduras. He also had no insurance. He was also an illegal alien.

On May 23rd of this year a jury awarded $2 million to the family of the illegal alien. The jury assigned no fault to Ochoa, despite the fact that he pulled out into traffic. And the jury awarded an additional $33,000 for funeral and medical expenses.

Like I said, I don’t know if the city writing checks for $2 million to the family of an illegal alien had anything to do with their willingness to embark in immigration enforcement, but I would guess that it did.

It would be nice if cities and towns would do these things on their own (like Carpentersville, Illinois has) but I still see most mayors and city councils doing little more than pointing their fingers toward Washington.