Illinois withdraws from federal immigration program

 Gov. Pat Quinn and state lawmakers Wednesday cast Illinois as a sympathetic voice in the nation's volatile immigration debate with two actions that run counter to a wave of pro-enforcement measures approved or under consideration in Arizona and other states.
 
Quinn's office on Wednesday sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security declaring the state's formal withdrawal from Secure Communities, a federal deportation program that targets hardened criminals but has also been used against illegal immigrants arrested for misdemeanor crimes.