Don’t let the word “debate” in the term “floor debate” fool you. Floor debates in Springfield are no more debates than transwomen are women. There is no cross-examination or rebuttal, for which most of our lawmakers must be deeply thankful in that they couldn’t argue their way out of an imaginary paper bag—at least not using logic and evidence.

Floor debates in Springfield are occasions for bill sponsors and supporters—almost always Democrats—to pontificate and for opponents to try to point out flaws that are promptly ignored by Democrats no matter how reasonable and justified. A floor debate in Springfield for Democrat-sponsored bills is a tale told by idiots, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing but more government restriction of liberty, more government spending, and more moral chaos.

For an example, let’s look briefly at last Friday’s floor debate preceding the vote in the Illinois House on the pernicious sex ed bill that now awaits Governor J.B. Pritzker’s signature. According to the bill’s chief sponsor, State Representative Camille Lilly (D-Chicago), the bill was socially constructed by three far left organizations—”Advocates for Youth, SIECUS and the Answer”—all of which are dedicated to normalizing abortion, early sexual experimentation, and sexual deviance. It is noteworthy that this bill is so perverse and troubling that even Illinois Democrats were barely able to scrape together the 60 votes needed to pass it.

Before looking at the “debate,” here’s a reminder of what lawmakers in Springfield think government employees should be exposing other people’s children to.

If signed into law, this bill will require all personal health and safety lessons in Illinois public schools—including charter schools—to teach children in grades K-2 about unmarried moms and dads and families led by homosexual couples. These very young children will also be expected to define “gender identity’’—a euphemism for the disordered desire to be the opposite sex.

Government employees will demand that children ages 8-11 explain, describe, and define masturbation, homosexuality, bisexuality, cross-sex impersonation, the use of hormone blockers for children who pretend to be the sex they aren’t, and “gender expansiveness”—a socially constructed leftist term.

Then in grades 6-8, government employees will instruct other people’s children in the ways of oral and anal sex; the “methods of contraception that are available without a prescription”; the “many methods of short- and long-term contraception that are safe and effective and … how to access them”; and the meaning of intersex, queer, twospirit, asexual, and pansexual. And, of course, leftists have snuck in some critical race theory, so 11–14-year-olds will be taught as objective and true the socially constructed theory of “intersectionality.”

To ensure that religious Illinois school children graduate from high school ashamed of and detesting the faith of their mothers and fathers, government employees will teach them about the evils of what leftists call “homophobia” and “transphobia.” In the Upside Down where leftists live and move and have their being, the true belief that homosexual acts and cross-dressing undermine the image of God imprinted on all humans constitutes irrational hatred.

State Representative Avery Bourne (R-Raymond) was able to get Lilly to admit that this law—like the ever-shifting moral beliefs of leftists—is fluid. If the bill becomes law, it will forever be tied to the National Sex Education Standards which change as progressivism affirms additional forms of sexual perversion. Bourne’s question elicited this shocking confession from the hapless Lilly:

As the National Sex Education Standards are updated, the State Board of Education shall update these learning standards.

All the ideas related to sexuality just mentioned are socially constructed leftist terms embedded with leftist assumptions. All the terms tossed about with absolutist certainty by Democrats to justify the indoctrination of other people’s children, including “age-appropriate,” “developmentally appropriate,” and “culturally appropriate,” are defined by leftists using criteria established by leftists.

Virtually no theologically orthodox Christian believes it is “culturally appropriate” for their 5-8- year-olds to be taught anything about homosexuality or “trans”-cultic beliefs and practices. SB 818’s supporters like to emphasize the sop they’re tossing to conservatives: Any parent may opt their child out of perversion-positive training.

Doesn’t sound very inclusive to me. In addition, conservatives still have to pay for perversion-positive “personal health and safety” training.

Curiously, in the floor “debate,” the issue of moral development never arose. It’s clear that moral assumptions/conclusions are embedded in the National Sex Education Standards with which this law requires all health and safety curricula selected by schools to align. How do I know that moral conclusions are embedded in these standards?

I know because these “standards” do not require schools to teach about, for example, polyamory, zoophilia, or infantilism—all forms of “identity” for some people. Even though these are forms of identity, Springfield Democrats don’t—yet –require that Illinois schools affirm them. The reason is that not enough Democrats—yet—believe these forms of identity are moral. Currently, Democrats believe homosexual and cross-sex identities should be normalized via taxpayer-funded schools because Democrats have concluded they are morally acceptable.

Remember what this bill requires as I quote some of the dumb things Democrats said about it in their fatuous floor speechifying, starting with the foolish sponsor of the bill, Camille Lilly:

Under SB818 … the materials and instruction must be age and developmentally appropriate, medically accurate, correct, complete, culturally appropriate, inclusive. … SB818 is not a mandate. Under SB818 parents, guardians and others will still be able to review the materials used by schools. Parents are still able to opt out, and local control applies to the selection of courses and materials and the curriculum. In addition to reducing stigma, SB818 would result in creating and the creation of learning standards that reflect the diversity of all students here in the state of Illinois.

Some brief thoughts about Lilly’s claims:

• SB 818 is not age-, developmentally, or culturally appropriate. The claims by leftist sexperts do not change reality.

• If by “correct” Lilly means “conforming to truth” or “proper,” she is incorrect.

• Clearly, materials and instruction will not be “complete” because the NSES do not include any information about polyamory, zoophilia, infantilism, sadomasochism, or any other paraphilias. I wonder if Camille Lilly et al. hate polyamorists, zoophiles, infantilists, and sadomasochists.

• SB 818 is a mandate in that no school may teach anything on personal health and safety in grades K-5 unless the materials they choose align with the age-, developmentally, culturally, and morally inappropriate leftist National Sex Education Standards.

• Lilly should explain which stigmas she seeks to reduce because this bill stigmatizes the moral views of many Illinoisans.

State Representative Delia Ramirez (D-Chicago) asked Lilly if it were true that the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Association of School Boards are “neutral on the bill,” to which Lilly responded “Yes.” Then in an amusing and obvious manipulation of rhetoric, Ramirez changed the word “neutral,” saying, “So, educators don’t oppose the bill.” Well, it’s equally correct to say, “So, educators don’t support the bill.”

It would be interesting to poll anonymously all K-5 teachers in the state, asking if they are in favor of being required to teach about homosexuality, bisexuality, co-habitation, masturbation, cross-sex impersonation, hormone-blockers, and gender expansiveness in personal health and safety lessons.

And we should ask if they think there should be a law prohibiting all teaching on personal health and safety unless it includes those topics. No discussions of healthy eating permitted unless they’re accompanied by affirming discussions of cross-dressing, hormone-blocking, and self-pleasuring.

State Representative Maurice West (D-Rockford) apparently derives his hearty support for requiring public school teachers to instruct 5-year-olds in the intricacies of masturbation and 11-year-olds about anal sex from TLC’s programs about hoarders and obese people:

We view television shows on TLC like Hoarders, My 600-Pound Life, just for example, where they often recall their childhood experience with shame, emptiness, guilt, confusion from their dealings with that word: sex. This legislation’s primary focus is not about the birds and the bees. It’s about equipping our children with age-appropriate conversations about how they can be empowered within themselves.

Well, West is right on one thing: This bill is definitely not about the birds and the bees.

Maybe, just maybe, it’s not the job of education majors to sexually “empower” other people’s children with the pagan sexual beliefs of regressives.

Two questions for West and all leftists:

1.) Since when did it become the task, pedagogical obligation, or right of public school teachers to solve all societal ills?

2.) Are there any pedagogical, ethical, moral, emotional, or psychological problems potentially created by introducing sexual imagery, ideas, and beliefs to other people’s children who have never been abused or shamed and whose parents have successfully protected them from ideas they—the parents—believe are age-, developmentally, culturally, and morally inappropriate?

In case parents don’t yet realize it, this newest bill is centrally about normalizing homosexuality and “trans”-cultic beliefs and practices. In yet another statement made with a voice quivering with faux-emotion, lesbian activist with a burnt soul, State Representative Kelly Cassidy, made that clear:

For far too long, LGBTQ youth were either invisible or expressly stigmatized. And I remember that. It burned into my soul. …  I remember that. … And as a kid who didn’t understand why I didn’t fit in, who couldn’t define why I felt different, and whose parents were not an option to go to, I wish I had had a teacher I could turn to. I wish I had had a curriculum that didn’t call me unnatural.

The presumptuous Cassidy demands that public schools affirm her arguable belief that homosexuality is natural, and if parents disagree, Cassidy wants the state to come in between them and their children.

State Representative Ann Williams (D-Chicago) made this boneheaded statement:

[I]t’s hard to imagine why anyone would think our children should not learn about sex education in school, but rather should refer to the internet or Google to determine what sex is or what their questions are and get them answered there. Right now, if you Google any of these terms related to sex education, you’re going to get a lot more explicit information than anything would be provided in a curriculum.

Phew. I guess Illinois parents should thank Democrats. At least curricula aligned with leftist standards won’t be as bad as what kids can find on the Internet.

It’s unfortunate that Williams suffers from such a dearth of imagination. It’s true, many people don’t think children should learn about sex in public schools. Here’s something else that may surprise the unimaginative Williams. Many people don’t think children should be learning about sex in co-ed classes in public schools. They believe that talking about menstruation and nocturnal emissions in co-ed classes can be embarrassing, inhibit discussions, and undermine the virtue of modesty.

Poor Williams suffers too from an inability to reason logically. Suggesting that there exists only the choice between public schools and the Internet is a classic example of the fallacy of the false dilemma. In addition to leftist-controlled public schools and the Internet, there are parents, grandparents, churches, libraries, and bookstores that can and do educate children on sex. It is not the business of the government to step in and expose all children to assumption-riddled claims about sexuality because some parents are derelict in their responsibilities.

Here’s a modest proposal: Rather than devouring the hearts and minds of other people’s little ones, how about schools offer two classes in personal health and safety—a perversion-positive class and a truly age-appropriate class. The class descriptions should include all materials used, the name of all organizations that constructed the materials, all the standards employed by those organizations, and all the criteria used to determine what constitutes age-, developmental, and cultural appropriateness. Let parents opt-in to whichever class they want or none at all. And allow teachers to choose which class they want to teach. With their deep commitments to diversity, inclusivity, cultural sensitivity, and choice, leftists should love this modest proposal.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to send a message to Gov. Pritzker’s administrative staff to urge him to VETO SB 818 as a terrible overreach of government. Impressionable students in public schools should not be exposed to body- and soul-destroying messages that promote leftist beliefs about sexuality.

Listen to this article read by Laurie:

https://staging.illinoisfamily.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Dumb-Things-Dems-Said-in-Sex-Ed-Floor-Debate.mp3

Illinois parents shouldn’t need any more reasons to get their kids out of the sexual indoctrination hellholes that masquerade as government schools, but here are some more reasons courtesy of the cunning creatures that inhabit the Springfield swamp.

Two weeks ago, two bills were introduced to amend Illinois’ already offensive comprehensive sex ed law: SB 3788, which is sponsored by Illinois State Senators Celina Villanueva (D-Summit) and Laura Fine (D-Glenview), and HB 5012, the chief co-sponsors of whom include the Illinois House’s most objectionable propagandist, State Representative Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) along with Representatives Ann Williams (D-Chicago) and Michelle Mussman (D-Schaumburg).

Then on Wednesday, a bill that should be called the “GET OUT OF ILLINOIS SCHOOLS PRONTO” Act (SB 2762), was filed by nine Democrats and will mandate comprehensive sex ed  for all grades. This bill, laughably named the “Responsible Education Adolescent and Children’s Health” (REACH) Act, is heartily endorsed by Planned Parenthood of Illinois and by Illinois’ premiere “LBGT” activist organization, Equality Illinois, which should tell you everything you need to know about it.

Here are some troubling parts of the Villanueva/Cassidy monstrosities that apply to grades 6-12:

• Their bills mandate that all curricular “materials and instruction” must be “affirming” of “individuals, families, and communities” in an “inclusive, respectful, and effective” manner based on their identities as homosexuals or cross-sex impersonators.

• Their bills delete the section that says curriculum must “teach honor and respect for monogamous heterosexual marriage.”

• Their bills add “Course material and instruction shall [must] teach pupils … how to give [and] receive … consent” for sexual activity. Let’s repeat that: Our government is going to order schools to teach 11-year-olds how to give consent for sex.

• Current law requires “evidence-based” curricula. These new bills add the term “evidence-informed,” which is a far less rigorous requirement. “Evidence-informed” resources are much more useful to leftists who want to promote, for example, the “trans” ideology, because there is no hard science proving that social, chemical, and surgical interventions for gender dysphoric children are harmless.

These bills also say that all curricular “materials and instruction” must be “affirming” of “individuals, families, and communities” in an “inclusive, respectful, and effective” manner based on their “religion.” So, does anyone believe that the feelings and beliefs about sexuality, sexual identity, sexual relationships, or marriage of Christians, Orthodox Jews, or Muslims will be explicitly affirmed in exactly the same ways the feelings and beliefs of homosexuals and cross-sex impersonators on these issues will be? Does anyone believe the feelings and beliefs of the religious groups will be presented at all?

Then on Wednesday, things got worse. Nine Democrats in the Illinois Senate sponsored a bill that expands sex ed to include all grades from kindergarten through senior year in high school and includes the following:

• “It is the intent of the General Assembly that comprehensive sex ed shall [must]… promote awareness and healthy attitudes about gender identity, gender expression” and “sexual orientation … and must be available to students in kindergarten through 12th grade.”

• “Comprehensive sex ed in kindergarten through second grade shall [must] include … instruction on the following topics: human anatomy … gender roles … [and] varying family structures.” Discussing human sexual anatomy in co-ed K-2 classes is yet one more way for our culture to dissolve feelings of modesty in young children just as those feelings are beginning to develop. Leftists view that as a good thing.

• “Comprehensive sex ed in the third through 5th grades shall [must] include information about diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions. … and an examination of the harm caused by gender-role stereotypes.”

• “[C]omprehensive sex ed must include … Discussion about … sexting” with 8-10-year-olds. Leftists may be unaware of the many 8-10-year-olds who have never heard of sexting, never heard of porn, and don’t have cell phones. In those many cases, the passage of this law would mean the government would be introducing these young children to sexting. The innocence of their children that, at great effort and vigilance, parents have been able to preserve in the midst of this sex-saturated and defiling culture, the government would steal.

• Comprehensive sex ed “may not use stigmatizing or shame-based instructional tools or stigmatize parenting or sexually active youth,” “may not employ gender stereotypes” (you know, like saying only girls menstruate or only boys have penises), and “may not teach or promote any religious doctrine.”

In other words, schools must express only one judgment on homosexual behavior, cross-sex identification, and same-sex parenting: approval. So, what happens when the next sexual lobby gets their sexual identity added to the lawbooks? What happens when polyamorists are successful in having “polyamory” included in law as a “sexual orientation”?

Let’s for a moment look at not just the trees but the forest too. In that dark forest lurks not only comprehensive sex ed for K-12 students but also the “LGBT” school indoctrination law, which takes effect this coming July and applies to all grades K-12. Every student starting at 5 years old will be exposed to positive images and ideas about homosexuality, cross-sex identification, and activism in the service of normalizing both. There won’t be any way to escape such indoctrination by opting out because it’s going to be integrated across curricula.

According to research conducted in 2018 by the market research firm Ipsos Mori, 88 percent of baby boomers identified as exclusively heterosexual, 85 percent of Gen X identified as such, 71 percent of millennials, and a shocking 66 percent of Generation Z, that is, young people between the ages of 16-22, identified as exclusively heterosexual. Ideas have consequences.

While conservatives claim to believe that homosexuality is not biologically determined, they act as if they believe it is. They have for decades allowed their children to be exposed to “LGBT” dogma because they don’t really believe it will affect their children. Conservative parents have for decades tolerated their children’s exposure to homosexuality-affirming plays, novels, movies, essays, “anti-bullying” programs, and sex ed in school, ignorantly believing such propaganda won’t affect their children’s hearts, minds, and behavioral choices.

But of course, it will, and we’re seeing the toxic fruit of the erasure of sexual taboos and concomitant wholesale cultural approval of deviant sexual behavior. Layer on top of that widespread and easy availability to homosexual and “trans” porn, pro-homo/pro-“trans” postings on social media, loss of faith, broken homes, and broken children in search of connection and existential meaning, and voilà, we’re a pagan culture.

While parents may opt their children out of the sex ed indoctrination, they may not exempt them from the “LGBT” indoctrination that will permeate all other curricula. Fat lot of good opting their kids out of pro-“LGBT” sex ed will do when all their peers are in it and the rest of their classes are similarly poisoned.

A question for the non-gullible in Illinois: If these laws are passed, how long do you give it before the conscience-less swampsters propose a bill amending them to get rid of the opt-out option?

A question for Christian parents: How wicked do the ideas have to become and how young the children to whom these ideas are presented in government schools before you realize government schools are training up your children to go in ways that no one should go?

A question for Christian teachers: How wicked do the ideas you’re asked to teach or implicitly speak (e.g., through the use of incorrect pronouns to refer to “trans”-identifying students) have to become before you will take up your cross and refuse?

A question for pastors, priests, and elders: How wicked do the ideas that children in your congregations are exposed to in government schools have to be before you realize these children are your mission field? How wicked do the ideas that children in your congregations are exposed to in government schools have to be before you will either create affordable schools or make funds available to your families so they can send their children to existing but cost-prohibitive schools?

Government schools are no longer places that shape character or cultivate virtue. Government schools are places dedicated to the ideological grooming of children into the deviant-sex-obsessed world of “progressivism.”

Take ACTION: Click HERE to send a message to your state senator and state representative to ask them to vote against these bills:  SB 3788, SB 2762 and HB 5012. Impressionable students in public schools should not be exposed to body- and soul-destroying messages that promote leftist beliefs about sexuality.

Even if your children or grandchildren are not in public schools, your taxes are being used for this relentless indoctrination campaign. In addition to sending an email, please call both of your state lawmakers during normal business hours via the state switchboard: (217) 782-2000.

A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone,
after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.
~Jesus Christ (Luke 6:40)

Listen to this article read by Laurie:

https://staging.illinoisfamily.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/sexed_mixdown.mp3

THIS SATURDAY! IFI is hosting our annual Worldview Conference on March 7th at the Village Church of Barrington. This year’s conference is titled “Thinking Biblically About Our Corrosive Culture” and features Dr. Michael Brown and Dr. Rob Gagnon. For more information, please click HERE for a flyer or click the button below to register for the conference.

How did they vote?

On Wednesday evening, the Illinois House of Representatives voted 72 to 45 to ratify SJRCA 4, a completely unnecessary proposal to amend the U.S. Constitution to eradicate sex as a legitimate characteristic on which to base reasonable distinctions.

Click HERE to see how your state representative voted on this legislation, or look at the graphic below.

For more than two hours, state lawmakers debated this issue. The fact that this legislation says nothing about women didn’t dissuade 15 legislators from rising to the microphone to express their support. These advocates included the sponsor, Lou Lang (D-Skokie), Ann Williams (D-Chicago), David Harris (R-Arlington Heights), Steve Andersson (R-Geneva), Stephanie Kifowit (D-Aurora), Laura Fine (D-Glenview), Christine Winger (R-Bloomingdale), Sue Scherer (D-Decatur), Emmanuel Welch (D-Chicago), Carol Ammons (D-Chicago), Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago), Christian Mitchell (D-Chicago), Dan Brady (R-Bloomington), and Juliana Stratton (D-Chicago).

It is interesting to note that both State Representatives Christine Winger and Dan Brady prefaced their remarks by claiming to be pro-life, even though it is well known that Planned Parenthood is a strong proponent of this legislation precisely because it will expand abortion “rights” throughout the nation and dismantle vital abortion restrictions—including parental notification (or consent) laws.

On the pro-life/pro-family side, eight state lawmakers rose to speak against the ERA, including Pete Breen (R-Lombard), Allen Skillicorn (R-Crystal Lake), Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton), Mary Flowers (D-Chicago), Tom Morrison (R-Palatine), Terry Bryant (R-Mt. Vernon), and Rita Mayfield (D-Waukegan).

Proponents of the ERA claim that they need one more state to ratify this constitutional amendment for complete victory, even though the deadline for passage expired decades ago and even though five states have voted to rescind their ratification over the years it has been pending. If one more state votes for its passage, the issue will certainly wind up in the courts.

In addition to proponents of the legalized slaughter of human beings in the womb, there is another constituency that is celebrating tonight: people who masquerade as the sex they are not.

Thanks for nothing to the 72 feckless state representatives who demonstrated again why Illinois is such a sorry state.

The official roll call of this vote:

Written by Ralph Rivera

Another anti-family abortion-related bill, HB 887 (Amendment 1), passed out of the House Human Services Committee yesterday – the same committee that killed common-sense pro-life bills and a bill to protect students’ privacy in bathrooms and locker rooms (HB 4474), to name just a few.

Sponsored by State Representative Ann Williams (D-Chicago), HB 887 would amend various insurance codes, to keep a policyholder with a family plan from knowing that others are getting “sensitive health services” related to “reproductive health, including, but not limited to, family planning, maternity, abortion, fertility, transgender-related care, and HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infection services.”

If passed, this legislation would undermine the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act and limit the ability of parents to protect and raise their minor children as well as their adult children within the family insurance policy.

It requires health insurance providers to:

“permit individuals to request…communications of protected health information [e.g. abortions, transgender-related care] by alternative means or at alternative locations [e.g. mail, phone, or electronically].” 

“[A]ll protected health information…should be withheld by the health insurance provider or redirected to a specified mail or electronic mail address or specified telephone number…”

Proponents of this legislation have admitted that its intent is to keep policyholders from knowing what immoral procedures and “medical” services their premiums are being used for.

Take ACTION:  Click HERE to send a message to your state representative to urge him/her to oppose HB 887.

You can also call your state representative in Springfield during normal business hours.  The Capitol switchboard number is (217) 782-2000.

State Representative Scott Drury (D-Highwood) wrote this to a constituent who opposes HB 4013*, the bill that would remove all restrictions on taxpayer-funded abortions:

Thank you for your email.  As a devoted husband and father of two children, I have a deep understanding of how rewarding parenting can be.  However, not every pregnancy is planned or desired.  It is, therefore, vital that all women have access to safe reproductive health care without government interference.  Should the legislation you reference be called for a vote, I will support it.

Very truly yours,

Scott R. Drury

As indicated by the adverb “however,” it appears Rep. Drury believes that only planned, desired children will provide adults with rewarding experiences, and, to “progressives,”  personal pleasure and subjective desire are First Principles—the ultimate arbiters of morality. Not only do empowered Leftist women and other “progressives” want the absolute, unfettered right to act in accordance with their autonomous desires, but they demand that others pay for their actions—including even the killing of their children.

I would challenge the notion that someone who believes subjective desire and good planning trump the rights of the pre-born constitutes a “devoted father.” A devoted father sacrifices his desires and his plans for the good of his children—all of his children. Same goes for devoted mothers.

While Drury waxes noble about safe, reproductive healthcare, maybe he could address how safe abortion is for the other party involved—you know, the tiny, helpless, undesired, unplanned baby. Perhaps not every pregnancy is planned or desired, but every pregnancy necessarily means a second human life is present who deserves at minimum “government interference” to prevent its slaughter. If our government can’t be counted on to “interfere” when stronger humans seek to destroy the lives of the weakest among us, then the government has lost all moral authority and deserves to cease to exist.

What a sickening rationalization of selfish, regressive barbarism.

Remember, Rep. Drury, the babies you want to compel taxpayers to pay to kill didn’t plan to come into existence, and devoted mothers who don’t desire them, don’t have to raise them. No babies are truly unwanted even if their biological mothers don’t want them.

Take ACTION: First, please click HERE to send a message to your state representative to ask him/her to vote AGAINST this pro-abortion bill.

Please also email or call Rep. Durry’s office to politely let him know what you think about the use of taxpayer dollars for the destruction of pre-born human life.  His district phone number is (847) 681-8580 and his email is:  repdrury@gmail.com

Lastly, please forward this information to your pastors and/or church leaders and urge them to include this information in all church bulletins, newsletters, etc., as soon as possible.  Our state lawmakers return from Easter break next week, and HB 4013 may come up for a vote in the Illinois House anytime before the end of May.

* HB 4013 is sponsored by State Representatives Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), Carol Sente (D-Lincolnshire), Ann Williams (D-Chicago), and Elizabeth Hernandez (D-Cicero).

SAVE the DATE:
“Islam in America: A Christian Perspective”
with Dr. Erwin Lutzer
May 7th

CLICK HERE for Details

Lawmakers in the Illinois House, most if not all knowing little or nothing about medicine or disease, may be voting to legalize so-called marijuana as “medicine” in Illinois on Wednesday.

This bill allows a “qualified” patient to have 2.5 ounces of marijuana every 14 days (183 joints, 13 per day).  Even the most experienced user smokes an average of three or four joints a day, potentially allowing the surplus to be sold on the streets. Moreover, “medical” marijuana laws normalize marijuana use, which significantly decreases the perception of harm especially among adolescents and teens.

“The key to it is medical access, because once you have hundreds of thousands of people using marijuana under medical supervision the whole scam is going to be bought. Once there’s medical access…then we will get full legalization.” ~Richard Cowan, former director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to send your state representative an email or a fax to tell him/her that you do not want marijuana sold in your neighborhood for any purpose.  You can also contact your lawmakers through the Capitol switchboard at (217) 782-2000.

Andrea G. Barthwell, MD, FASAM, recently spoke to a large assembled group at Moraine Valley Community College at a conference on the consequences of marijuana as medicine.  She made it perfectly clear, smoked marijuana does not meet the standards of modern medicine. There is no scientific research on marijuana’s effectiveness as a medicine, interactions with other drugs, and impact on pre-existing conditions. There are no studies on marijuana that can be used to establish safe dosing levels, frequency and duration of administration, route, or method of administration for any medical condition.

The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) lists marijuana as a Schedule I drug because it has no accepted medical value and has a high potential for addiction. There is no scientifically documented benefit for the use of crude marijuana for any medical purpose. In fact, crude smoked marijuana has been rejected by major reputable national medical associations in the country including the American Medical Association, the American Ophthalmic Association, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the American Cancer Society.

Take a moment now to let your state representative know that you want him/her to vote NO to HB 1, the “medical” pot bill.

Read more:

Why Marijuana Legalization Would Compromise Public Health and Public Safety

Medical Marijuana Poses Critical Concerns to Prevention

Doctors Supporting FDA Process for Medical Marijuana

Christian Medical & Dental Association Letter to Lawmakers on HB 1

 Click HERE to make a donation to the Illinois Family Institute.

Much to the chagrin of Bible-believing Americans, President Barack Obama officially proclaimed June “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month” month.

In Chicago, as in many other big cities in America, pandering politicians and so-called “news” organizations quickly line up to show their approval and support for those who identify themselves by their sexual behavior. Specifically, they march in Chicago’s “Gay Pride” Parade. This year, the parade is scheduled for Sunday, June 27 at noon in the Lakeview neighborhood.

Please note the public officials and the government agencies that are participating in this event: each entry costs taxpayers $175 plus the costs of the float and displays.

Aside from the celebration of perverse sexual behavior and the blatant disregard for obscenity and decency laws, the most disturbing aspect of this yearly event is the presence of children, both as participants and spectators. This year, the Chicago Pride Parade lineup includes not one, but two Chicago Elementary Schools.

In the past, adults have attempted to shield children from accidental exposure to immoral behavior: things their minds are too young to comprehend. Protecting their innocence was a priority. But now adults are purposely exposing children to degenerate conduct and celebrations of sexual perversity.

Don’t expect Chicago’s media to blow the whistle. No, they will be too busy dancing on their official floats in the parade. The dominate media in Chicago (and elsewhere) have given up on the idea of neutrality when it comes to issues as important and contentious as homosexuality, the meaning of family and marriage, and traditional religion. They have taken the side of homosexual activists and will not dare to challenge parade organizers in fear of being called intolerant, or worse, a bigot.

The media has intentionally discarded any notion of journalistic integrity when it comes to the divisive issue of homosexuality and counterfeit marriage and have, in turn, become fierce advocates.

Here is the list of those participating in the 2010 Gay “Pride” Parade:

Politicians and Political Groups

U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky

Gov. Patrick Quinn/staff
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan
State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias (Candidate for U.S. Senate)

State Sen. President John Cullerton
State Sen. Jeff Schoenberg
State Sen. Heather Steans
State Sen. Harry Osterman

State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz
State Rep. Greg Harris
State Rep. Deborah Mell
State Rep. David Miller (Candidate for Illinois Treasurer)

Mayor Richard Daley’s Advisory Council on LGBT Issues
Mayors Bicycle Ambassadors
Chicago Alderman Tom Tunney
Chicago Alderman Scott Waguespack
Chicago Alderman Helen Shiller
Chicago Alderman Toni Preckwinkle (Candidate for Cook County Pres.)
Chicago Alderman Joe Moore
Chicago Alderman Roberto Maldonado
Chicago City Treasurer Stephanie Neely

Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart
Cook County Clerk Dorothy Brown
Cook County Recorder of Deeds Eugene Moore
Cook County Democrats
43rd Ward Democratic Committeeman Michele Smith

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District

Alliance of Illinois Judges

Candidate Joel Pollak (9th Congressional Dist.)
Candidate Scott Lee Cohen (Independent for Governor)
Candidate Ann Williams (11th Dist. State Rep.)
Candidate Robyn Gabel (18th Dist. State Rep.)
Candidate Don Nowotny (Alderman of Chicago’s 46th Ward)
Candidate James Cappleman (Alderman of Chicago’s 46th Ward)

Illinois State Bar Association
Illinois Green Party
ACLU of Illinois
Log Cabin Republicans
Planned Parenthood

Government Agencies

Chicago Police Superintendent Jody P. Weis
Chicago Commission/Human Relations
Nettelhorst School (Chicago Public Elementary School)
Chicago Waldorf School (Chicago Private Elementary School)
Chicago Public Library
Oak Park Pub. Library
Gerber Hart Library (Chicago Public Library)
CTA
Chicago Dept. Public Health
Amtrak
Illinois Lottery
Anti Cruelty Society

Sports Organizations

Chicago Cubs
Chicago Force Football

Media

Chicago Public Radio
ABC7 Chicago
WLEY-FM
WGN-TV
KISS-FM
WGN-AM
WXRT
JACK-FM
WCPT
WLIT-93.9
WCIU-TV
WBBM-FM/B96
Chicago Tribune’s RedEye Newspaper
Chicago Grab Magazine

Local Businesses

ComEd
BMW Sherreville
Grossinger Auto Group
Cricket Communications
Old Town School of Folk Music
Royal Service Realty
Threadless.com
Fields Infinity
Paninos Cafe
Bill Jacobs Volkswagen
Fletcher Jones Volkswagen
Windy City Movers
New Town Alano
Saugatuck
Chicago OUtfit
Advocate Illinois Masonic Hospital
Alcala’s Western Wear
Mi Tierra Mexicana
Greenhouse Theater
Yoga Now
Nuns for Fun/Late Nite Catechism
Northside Toyota
Club Escape
Horizon Hospice
Campit Outdoor Resort
Chicago Apartment Finders
Brown Elephant
Chi-Town Squares
Standard Bank
John Baethke Plumbing
Maneuvers
Molitor Financial Group
Pretty Boy Enterprises
Animal Ark Vet Clinic
Fusion Radio Chicago
Evanston Subaru
Core Center
Le Passage
Pivot Point Academy
Broadway in Chicago
Sidetrack Nightclub
Barely Standing Rock Band
Hydrate Nightclub
Baton Show Lounge
Williams Inn
Jeffrey Pub
Miss Foozie
Resnick Auto
Robert Jeffrey Hair Salon
Folia Brasil
Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce
Chicago Smelts
Hunters Nightclub
Club Krave
Pop Goes the Gio
Chicago History Museum
Looking Glass Theatre
Bailiwick Theatre
Velvet Rope
Berlin Bar
PDQ Construction
After Dark
Marbles Brain Store

Corporations

United Way
Chipotle Mexican Grill
Holiday Inn Express
Orbits
Northrop Grumman
Google
MB Financial
Restoration Salon
Office Max
Astellas Pharma
Domicile Furniture
Chase Bank
Sears Holding
Bank of America
I-Go Car Share
Exelon Corp.
Frito-Lay
PepsiCo
LA Tan
Blue Cross/Blue Shield
Caribou Coffee
Miller Lite
Sara Lee
KPMG
Wrigley Co.

Pro-gay Organizations

Anti-Defamation League
Civil Rights Agenda
Ride for AIDS
Tree House Humane Society
Fillipino Pride
Just Married
GayMatchChicago.com
Active Transportation Alliance
Ram/Leather/Cupid/Banana
Chicago Gender Society
New Town Alano Club
Spin Nightclub
Gay Liberation Network
Lambda Legal
Windy City Black LGBT Pride
Dignity Chicago
Human Rights Campaign
PFLAG
Dykes on Bikes
Equality Illinois
Chicago NOW

Schools & Professional Organizations

University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Chicago
Illinois Bar Association
Indiana University GLBT Alumni
Unite Here
Chicago Boyz (University of Chicago)
Harrington College
Hoosier Honeys
Indiana University GLBT Alumni
Columbia College
ROTC Chicago
Roosevelt University
SEIU Council
Beta Gamma
Dartmouth Club
Harrington College

Religious Organizations

Chicago Theological Seminary
St. James Cathedral
Holy Convenant United Methodist Church
Countryside Unitarian Universalists
Chicago Coalition of Welcoming Churches
Congregation Or Chadash
Bodhi Spiritual Center
Night Ministry

Misc. 

Technosexual
TransAction
Mercy for Animals
Gay McHenry
Chicago Spirit Brigade
Howard Brown Health Center
Yelp.com
Asians & Friends Chicago
Windy City Cowboys
Chicago Prime Timers
Puerto Rican Cultural Center/VIDA SIDA
Howard Area Community Center
Join the Impact
Center on Halsted
Chicago Gay Hockey
Jane Addams Hull House