Anyone Living in Chicago? Thinking of Moving There.

Hey guys, I'm currently living in Arizona and as you guys know, its kinda hard to live here. I've been planning on moving to neighboring states like New Mexico or California but I've heard from other people who have moved out that there isn't many jobs available for people like us there--since they've been taken up in the last months. I'm curious about Chicago since it's a much bigger city, and I think there could be more job opportunities there, or in the east coast rather than the southwest, etc. One of the biggest reasons why I'm hesitant about moving to New Mexico is their Half Time/Full Time policy since they consider 11 creds or less half time and you could pay in-state tuition as long as you don't go over 12+ creds (full time). Here in Arizona, you could only take 6 creds (half time).
Are schools in Chicago like these? Do they consider 11 creds half time? How much is it? Can DREAMers apply? Any advice about what univs or comm colleges to look into?
How about jobs? Is there somewhat a good chance to score a job withing the first couple of days of moving there?
How about laws? If you get pulled over, do they tow your car? ETC. Thanks for any pointers! Take care, guys!

They consider it "part time" although it means you pay half the tuition I guess. (This is for public schools that I know since I couldn't afford 55k at the U of C.) To get in state tuition however you must have graduated from a IL high school and have been here for a bit I believe. You can check more on that if you want.

How much is it? About 5-6k a semester for part time in state tuition for full time and around 3k for part time. Community colleges are cheaper I believe.

Job? Not that easy that I know, although it can't be harder than Arizona or some other states you mentioned.

If you get pulled over without license I do believe they tow your car but I am not sure.

I can't answer some of these questions in great detail about Chicago. It's something at least to get you started though.

I wouldn't suggest you move to Chicago. I know la few people who have moved up here from southern states and they hate it. Unless you drive (and even then), winter time will make your daily commute to work or school a bitch.

As far as driving goes, it depends on the area. Some areas are lenient, while others aren't. Generally, cops from the suburbs are assholes. They'll tow your car and arrest your ass.

School wise, I'm not sure how the whole in state tuition thing actually works but I think that you have to have graduated from a high school in Illinois to qualify.

here are the detail for in-state tuition in Illinois.

http://dreamact.info/students/in-state/illinois

I am from Miami, and have been going to school in Chicago for 3 years now, I think that the city of Chicago is far far better then the heavily hispanic city I come from, a million times better. I would actually suggest against getting a car, the public transportation system in the city of Chicago is very thorough and I have seldom seen a bus arrive late to a bus stop, even very late at night or early in the morning (cannot say the same for Miami). Furthermore, they do a lot of street cleaning, about twice per week, and they do a poor job in letting people know where they are going to be cleaning the result is that I do not know anyone that drives and has not received a ticket as a result, mostly because they are new to the city. Parking is rare in the city and the cost to park can be severe.

There is one very peculiar aspect to this city that I had not experienced before, instead of a melting pot society, it seems as if people choose live in groups based on cultural and racial background. You have heavily Chinese areas, as well as heavily hispanic areas, heavily italian areas and heavily russian areas, among others. I think this particular fact might make finding a job easier in Chicago then a melting pot society where under our predicament it might be harder to determine where it would be safe to ask for work.

There has been, and i read the paper a lot, issues with employers taking advantage of undocumented employees and not paying them for the time that they work, but its also promising to see those issues in the newspaper with actual solutions and lawyers representing those people and making the employers accountable, rather then that issue becoming a truth that is kept under the table where nothing could be done about that.

Here is the thing, if you are from a more immigrant friendly city you do not know what someone goes through in a city that has laws similar or worse then the Arizona law, like my city just enacted, I am now hearing of police stopping people at random in the street with the purpose of asking for status documentation, and Miami has had many issues with ICE closing roads to stop and inspect the documentation of drivers, or closing down a public building such as a bank and checking everyone, or going to workplaces. I come home to miami to stay indoors almost exclusively because there is a curfew in place for people under 18 and showing them a foreign ID might put me at risk if I am out after certain times, while in Chicago, its not uncommon for me to be out and around at 1-2 am after a very heavy study session in the school library.