McLean County Board votes against migrant resolution

Posted on January 12, 2024

*The McLean County Board met Thursday night at the Government Center in downtown Bloomington. (Photo courtesy WMBD-TV)*

BLOOMINGTON – An abundance of McLean County residents and groups spoke out against the migrant resolution that was voted on during Thursday night’s McLean County Board meeting.

The county board voted against the resolution 13 to 7. The resolution was proposed by board member Chuck Erickson. It would have prohibited the use of taxpayer-funded services for migrants into McLean County from another state.

The residents and groups spoke for over two hours about their opposition to the resolution to the county board. There were a few people who encouraged the board to vote yes.

One of the county board members against the resolution was Corey T.J. Beirne who began the discussion reflecting on the comments of the residents.

“By my informal count, I showed a roughly seven to one against in comment towards this resolution,” Beirne said. “Six people spoke in personal experience with immigration, six people cited historical examples, seven people cited economic examples, five people cited religious justifications, ten people suggested moral justifications, four for legal, and four for politics.

“This is not a good resolution,” he continued. “This is not a good deal for the taxpayers, this is not good for our county. There is nothing good about this. I will be voting no.”

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