Rivals clash over IDs

State Rep. Paul Froehlich's primary opponent is criticizing him over his two-year-old support for giving driving certificates to undocumented immigrants who are insured.

Froehlich's challenger in the 56th House District, fellow Schaumburg Democrat John Moynihan, said the defeated bill Froehlich supported would have rewarded illegal immigrants with legitimacy just by their being able to drive.

Both men agree driver's licenses have become the de facto national ID card and mean more in most people's eyes than just an ability to drive.

And that's what concerns Moynihan.

"When you're going to give it to someone who's not in the country properly, it raises all sorts of other implications," Moynihan said.

But Froehlich said the driving certificates he supports would clearly not be allowed to be used as ID cards for any other purpose.

"They can do only one thing with their driving certificate: drive," he said.

The bill is not currently before the legislature. But Moynihan said its continued relevance is what it might mean for future decisions.

"The importance is what it says about what your thought process is," Moynihan said. "This is not a message you want to be sending."

He said that while immigration is one of the things that makes America great, undocumented immigration carries nothing but negatives.

It's bad for the country because it throws off the whole supply-and-demand ratio of labor, upon which properly documented immigrants are allowed in legally, Moynihan said.

It's also bad for undocumented workers who find themselves with no legal protections against employers and others who might try to take advantage of them, he said.

"It's hard to go to the police if you're worried that the first question is whether you're there legally," Moynihan said.

But Froehlich said the chief issue for him, as well as the many law enforcement organizations that supported the bill, is public safety and not illegal immigration.

"Though I understand the controversy behind it, it's still a traffic safety issue," Froehlich said. "I still think traffic safety would be enhanced if we have a higher percentage of people on the road who are insured, licensed to drive and identified."

He added that anyone who's ever been struck by an uninsured driver knows the experience can be just the start of a nightmare.

But the two rivals even disagree over how appealing the certificates would be to undocumented immigrants.

"If they're willing to break the law to be in this country illegally, I don't think they're worrying about getting a ticket for driving without insurance," Moynihan said.

He added most undocumented workers probably don't have $1,200 for insurance, even if they could use it to be properly licensed.

But Froehlich said anyone who talks to the people in that community would see they want to comply with the law as much as possible.

"They don't want to worry every time they go out to drive that they're going to get arrested and never see their kids again," Froehlich said.

He added that having such people in the state's database and able to drive legally are benefits to both them and the rest of the public.

Though the issue isn't likely to come back in 2008, it's still a position he supports, Froehlich said.

"I've always been a traffic safety advocate since I've been in the legislature," he said.

Froehlich, 57, has been state representative since 2003, but this is his first election since switching from Republican to Democrat last year.

Moynihan, 41, is an attorney specializing in financial cases who's making his first run for elected office.

The 56th District takes in Schaumburg and parts of Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, Palatine, Rolling Meadows, Roselle, Hanover Park, and Bloomingdale.