Join with FreedomWorks and Illinois Conservative Union as we host Nigel Farage (Mr. Brexit), the man who lit the fire under one of the largest and most effective grassroots movements in history. What Nigel started with Brexit was amplified here in the States with the election of President Donald J. Trump. The movement sparked fires of freedom across the globe. Let’s come together to fire up America’s Comeback Tour. This evening will remind us all: one person CAN make a difference! YOU can make a difference!

• Date & Time: Tuesday, May 11, 2021, Doors open at 6:00PM, program begins at 7:00PM
• Location: The Diplomat West, 681 W. North Avenue, Elmhurst, IL
• Cost: $20 per person, includes appetizers (beverages available for purchase)

As Election Day November 3 nears tensions in the country continue to run high. The candidates, parties, and voters are expressing worry over mail-in balloting which is being promoted over in-person voting due to the recent pandemic. In the midst of this unease, the Illinois Conservative Union (ICU), along with Judicial Watch, have filed suit against the Illinois State Board of Elections (SBE).

The suit, filed September 21, stems from a request for a list of voter data sent by the ICU to the Illinois State Board of Elections in August 2019, which was denied. According to Judicial Watch, the request sought “information about the maintenance of voter rolls, including the most recent voter registration list for Illinois.” The complaint filed in filed in court states the request noted the records “would be used solely for purposes intended by federal law, namely, to ensure the accuracy and currency of the official list of eligible voters.”

The Election Board denied the request based on the claim that only governmental bodies and political committees were allowed to view such records. A few members of the Illinois Conservative Union were eventually allowed to visit the Board of Elections office in Springfield to review Illinois’ millions of voter records. However, they could only do so “one at a time on a computer terminal, with no ability to sort or organize records,” said Judicial Watch.

In November 2019, the ICU sent the Board of Elections a notice of violation and did not receive a response. As a result, the Illinois Conservative Union determined the Illinois State Board of Elections and its director had violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993 by not allowing it access to public voter registration records.

A media release from the Illinois Conservative Union stated, “The SBE refusal to provide voter data as requested is contrary to multiple court decisions around the country ruling that citizen rights to voter data under the NVRA cannot be infringed by state law.”

The attorney handling the case is David Shestokas, who is also an advisor to the Heartland Institute. “ICU’s original request, followed by the notice of violation to Executive Director Steve Sandvoss and the Board of Elections, advised SBE of the federal court orders ruling that the NVRA supersedes state law,” he noted. “The Board’s obligations are clear. Failing to comply results in a waste of taxpayer resources and has delayed ICU’s work on behalf of Illinois voters.”

Its partner in the suit, Judicial Watch, is a Washington D.C. based conservative action group that files Freedom of Information requests on government officials and agencies to investigate alleged misconduct. Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court in the Northern District of Illinois (Illinois Conservative Union et al v. Illinois et al. No. 1:20-cv-05542).

According to Judicial Watch, its research has discovered 14 out of 102 counties (14% of all counties) in Illinois “have more registered voters than citizens over 18, while the state as a whole has 660,000 inactive registrants.”

“This lawsuit aims to open up Illinois voting records so private groups can tell whether they are dirty,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Illinois voters and citizens have a right to review election rolls under federal law and Illinois’ refusal to make them available suggests the state knows the rolls are a mess and won’t stand the light of the day.”

Carol Davis is Chair of the Illinois Conservative Union. “When crafting the NVRA, the intent of Congress was to enable the public to monitor the accuracy of our nation’s voter rolls,” she said. “By denying citizens access to the rolls, state election authorities are thwarting the intent of this legislation, specifically Section 8. Illinois has long been the target of jokes about our elections, such as ‘dead people voting’. Now is the time to verify the accuracy of Illinois voter rolls and put an end to our state’s embarrassing reputation regarding the lack of election integrity.”

Judicial Watch isn’t the only organization that has found irregularities in the state’s voter rolls.

In January 2020, WGN Chicago reported a “programming error in a signature pad at driver services facilities led to hundreds of non-U.S. citizens accidentally being registered as voters.” Once the problem was discovered it was fixed, and of the 574 individuals who were registered to vote, only 16 did.

We at IFI and IFA have been humbled and blessed by the words of encouragement, prayers, and support we have received over the past two weeks from subscribers. We can’t adequately express how thankful we are for such support or describe how it has bolstered our spirits and strengthened our resolve to act and speak boldly in defense of the least among us.

We also want to express our deep appreciation to the organizations and leaders who have publicly and privately expressed their unwavering support for Illinois Family Institute, including the Thomas More Society, Illinois Conservative Union, Concerned Women for America of Illinois, Catholic Citizens of Illinois, 2^nd Vote, the Rockford Pro-Life Initiative, the Illinois chapter of Concerned Citizens for America, Freedom’s Journal Institute, Restore our Constitution, Businessmen in Christ, Nehemiah Leaders, as well as dozens of religious, political and talk-radio leaders throughout the state and nation.

The fact that we compared the evil of the baby holocaust in America to the evil of the Jewish Holocaust has the proponents of abortion expansion in Illinois on the defensive. They are desperate to change the narrative. They cannot defend their indefensible views, so they attack pro-life conservatives.

They have launched a counter-offensive, House Joint Resolution 55, which is rife with lies and rhetorical nonsense and being used to try to deny us of our First Amendment rights. While the ad hominem attacks of Leftists are not new, their increasing willingness to use government to silence dissent is both new and deeply troubling.  (More on that in a future article.)

We are not anxious. We know that what the enemy intends for evil, God can use for good (Genesis 50:20).

We are trusting God in this latest skirmish. We trust that God’s plan is better than anything we can come up with (Isaiah 55:8-9).

We don’t believe it is a coincidence that this is happening at a time when the abortion debate is raging nationally, when Leftists are revealing through radical legislative proposals their murderous intentions, and when the movie Unplanned has hit thousands of movie theaters nation-wide.

IFI’s and IFA’s Board of Directors, staff, and I are of one mind that the time is long past due for defenders of the unborn to unite in a bolder confrontation of the evil of abortion and of those who celebrate it. Proponents of this abomination should be put on the defensive!

As every decent person can see, America is edging ever closer to legalizing post-birth infanticide. All lawmakers who support abortion should be publicly condemned and their views compared to other genocidal movements that have scarred human history.

You and I cannot remain silent in the face of this evil.

Yet, at the same time we are told to love our enemies “and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:28). So at this time and in this prayer alert, we are calling for prayer for those who seek to harass and intimidate us by misusing their governmental authority.

It is at times difficult to pray for our opponents, especially those who spread vicious lies about who we are and what motivates us. By extension, these unfair attacks on IFI smear all orthodox Christians. Yet we know that God changes hearts and minds (Ezekiel 36:26; Psalm 51:10; Proverbs 21:1). God can reveal to them their sins (Psalm 146:8; John 3:3; Acts 26:18) and their need for a Savior (John 3:1-21; 2 Corinthians 7:10).

So, our prayers for these lawmakers are essential. Let’s lift up the sponsors of HJR 55 in fervent and compassionate prayer over the next two months:

State Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Highwood)
State Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D-Glenview)
State Rep. Yehiel Kalish (D-Skokie)
State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago)
State Rep. Daniel Didech (D-Buffalo Grove)
State Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Chicago)
State Rep. Jonathan Carroll (D-Northbrook)
State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago)
State Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago)
State Rep. Sam Yingling (D-Round Lake Beach)
State Rep. Anna Moeller (D-Elgin)
State Rep. Karina Villa (D-St. Charles)

Pray that the Lord will open their eyes to the evil of abortion.

Pray that they will turn from darkness to light (Acts 26:18).

Pray that they will know the hope of His calling (Ephesians 1:18).

Pray that He will open their eyes to the injustice of their attempt to quash our civil rights (Isaiah 59:14-15).

Pray too that the bloodlust and greed of Planned Parenthood and their allies is exposed (Proverbs 6:16-19).

Finally, pray that the movie Unplanned continues to do well in theaters and that its pro-life message will reach far and wide here in Illinois, in our nation, and around the world.

IFI Prayer Team

If you pray and believe that God hears and answers prayer, will you please consider joining the IFI Prayer Team? This special opt-in group receives occasional emails asking for prayer regarding public policy issues, for specific government officials and various statewide needs as the Holy Spirit may lead.

Thank you and God bless you!