If you ever doubted that we wrestle against spiritual forces of evil who call good evil and evil good, then please watch these two videos of brief statements made on the floor of the Illinois House on Wednesday.

First, watch this video of one of Illinois’ finest lawmakers, the always gracious Tom Morrison (R-Palatine), who civilly expressed his views on the injustice of eradicating public recognition of sex differences, including in women’s private spaces and sports.

Then watch this video of Illinois’ worst lawmaker, the sanctimonious, arrogant, and venomous lesbian Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago), who, in response to Morrison, hurled indefensible lies at him, refusing even to use his name.

I urge you to watch these videos because how each Illinois House member spoke is almost as important as what they said. But for your convenience, the transcripts of both statements are set forth below, beginning with Morrison’s. Please read it carefully, so you are able to discern whether Cassidy’s response was justifiable:

For these past several weeks, we’ve been hearing facts about women’s history month, and I’m sure that we’ll hear more facts today and this week. When we hear those words, we think about our own mothers, wives, daughters, other notable women throughout history. We objectively know what a woman is, but it’s become increasingly common now to pretend that we don’t know. This is becoming George Orwell’s 1984. It’s Newspeak. It’s gaslighting. It’s activists pounding the table to declare that two plus two equals five. And that does not make it so. Demands that society accept lies as facts in the name of tolerance, inclusion, and justice is anything but. It’s not right, compassionate, or just.

This past weekend, the NCAA allowed a man to become a national champion in women’s swimming. This action was months and years in the making, and it denied that rightful place of honor to actual female athletes, several of whom were denied being named All Americans because their place was taken by University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas. Anyone who thinks that fairness in sports competition is the only issue here is missing the point.

Months ago, teammates of Lia Thomas complained to school officials that Thomas had exposed male nudity repeatedly in their locker room. This should have been a clearcut case of indecency and harassment, but university officials ignored the women’s concerns and discomfort. “Listen to women.” In this case, hardly.

Parents in Los Alamitos, California last month sent their fifth-grade girls on a three-day overnight school science field trip. After the weekend concluded, the girls told their parents that three male counselors who identify as non-binary shared those cabin quarters with the girls for each of the nights. Schools in Illinois already have similar policies. And most parents don’t even know, nor will they be told by school officials, less they be accused of discrimination.

In several states, including California, Washington State, and even here in Illinois, hundreds of male inmates, many of whom are serving time for sexual crimes or other crimes of violence are self-declaring as female or non-binary. And they’re getting a transfer to a women’s-only facility. There’s no requirement for surgery, no requirement for hormone therapy. Even if that did make the policy less bad, any sane person realizes how outrageous this is, but the practice continues and is expanding as more individuals realize what they can get away with.

According to a press report, President Joe Biden is now reportedly planning or considering I should say an executive order modeled after the California law, which would allow federal inmates to self-identify their gender and choose between a male or female prison.

Ideas have consequences. It is a minority of vocal activists who continue to push this ideology on all levels of society, including to young school children. It’s an ideology that is at war with reality, and we must stop blindly going along.

We can and should be kind to individuals who suffer from gender dysphoria, but we can do so without completely and irrationally upending society, which is already happening at lightning speed. If we really believe in the protection of women and women’s rights, we must acknowledge the harms being done and bring a stop to this, including the silence and passive acceptance about what’s really going on.

I imagine that here in this body, and perhaps beyond this chamber, there will be some who will try to condemn me and my words, but I’d like to close with these words by columnist Selwyn Duke: “The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.”

Thank you.

Now read Cassidy’s statement:

Last week, my constituent Elise Malary was pulled out of Lake Michigan. Elise was a shining example of what we want people to do and be in our community. She was part of our community on the North Side. She was dedicated to uplifting the people that she lived and worked with every day. She is one of too many black trans women whose lives mean nothing to the man on the other side of this room. She is one of many transgendered youth who are at increased risk of suicide because of the actions of people like the man that just spoke.

We are watching around the country as right-wing politicians take aim at trans youth and their families picking on the least of these. I’ve watched for years as my colleague has tormented trans youth in his community. And the brave young woman who stood up to that behavior is now my constituent as well. And to every trans youth out there listening,  to every parent who loves and affirms their children as God gave them to them, that’s not happening here in Illinois.

We will not follow in the footsteps of states that are tormenting these families and driving them away. We will embrace our youth. We will protect our youth and we will work together to solve the epidemic of murders and suicides among trans women in our community because we actually love and care for people as God made them. I don’t want to hear any more hate speech on this floor, not from anyone. And if we can only do one thing to honor Elise Malary’s memory, it’s to do that. Hate speech does not belong on this floor, not now, not ever.

For those who don’t know, “Elise” Malary, was a 31-year-old man who identified as a woman. He was not—as Cassidy implied—a “youth.” His age doesn’t make his death less tragic. Rather, his age reveals how misleading and manipulative Cassidy is.

To summarize, Morrison believes it is unjust for women to lose sports awards and records to biological men. He believes it is unjust for adult men to room with young girls. And he believes it is unjust for female prisoners to be housed with male criminals.

So too do feminists from the other side of the political aisle, including the Women’s Liberation Front, Naomi Wolf, Kara Dansky, the Women’s Declaration International, and J.K. Rowling. In Cassidy’s view, are all these left-leaning feminists—including many lesbians—guilty of hate speech for expressing their belief that sex-based rights exist and that denial of them is unjust? Does defending the sex-based rights of girls and women constitute the tormenting of gender-dysphoric boys in Cassidy’s distorted view?

I have seen and heard a lot of repugnant things spewed by the unscrupulous demagogue Cassidy, but nothing as repugnant as her exploitation of a tragic death to smear of one of Illinois’ finest public servants. In her vitriolic diatribe, she trembled with unrighteous rage as she falsely accuses Morrison of not caring about the death of a “black trans youth.” What is her evidence for this allegation?

What evidence did Cassidy provide for her malignant claim that Morrison doesn’t care about the deaths of “trans”-identifying youth or that his words about the reality and meaning of objective, immutable biological sex causes the suicide of “trans”-identifying youth?

What is Cassidy’s evidence that Morrison hates and “torments” trans people? What is her evidence that Morrison (or the millions of men and women who share his beliefs on gender dysphoria) hates those who identify as “trans”? Does Cassidy hate everyone who believes differently than she does on gender, sex, and “sexual orientation”? If so, then she must hate a huge swath of people, including many Catholics, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, Orthodox Jews, and Muslims.

What is her evidence that God “made” gender dysphoria? Did God make Minor Attraction? Zoophilia? Genetic Sexual Attraction? Did God make body dysmorphia? Did God make schizophrenia? Did God make cleft palate or spinal bifida? Or does God make humans in a world corrupted by the fall that results in disordered bodies, minds, and hearts?

In Cassidy’s view, does “loving and caring for others just the way God made them” include loving and caring for Christians just the way God made them? Does such love demand she affirm all their desires, beliefs, and actions? Does caring for and loving pedophiles or hebephiles require affirming their feelings and identities?

Is Cassidy aware that many in the medical and mental health communities believe that gender dysphoria and “trans”-identification may be symptoms—like depression and anxiety—of underlying causes, including autism, trauma, abuse, and psychosocial experiences?

Is she aware that hospitals in Sweden and the UK have stopped providing hormonal “treatment” to minors? Are they hateful? Should they be prohibited from speaking? While children and teens with gender dysphoria need compassion and treatment, the disputed question is what kind of treatment is best. Disagreeing with Cassidy on the best path forward does not constitute hatred of gender-dysphoric youth.

Cassidy concludes with an astonishing display of arrogance. Cassidy arrogates to herself the right to define “hate speech” and then arrogates to herself the right to ban it from the House floor? Unbelievable hubris.

Word to Cassidy, Christians think her assumptions about gender, sex, and “sexual orientation” are false and destructive. Many Christians feel uncomfortable and even marginalized by what they view as her hate speech and her attempts to silence dissent. They find her words as intolerant and bigoted as she finds the words of Rep. Morrison.

Why did no Republicans respond to Cassidy’s intemperate, uncivil, indefensible statement? Are there no Republicans with the integrity and courage to speak publicly as Morrison did on this issue of profound importance? Are there no Republicans willing to call for Cassidy to be censured?

Republicans who said nothing following Cassidy’s calumny should be ashamed.

Listen to this article read by Laurie:

https://staging.illinoisfamily.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Kelly-Cassidy-Hits-New-Ethical-Low.mp3

Illinois prisoners should have the right to vote, a powerful lobbying group is arguing to the Illinois General Assembly. The effort nearly progressed in late January 2022, when the measure failed in the Illinois House by three votes.

If made law, SB 828 would make Illinois the third state to allow incarcerated citizens to vote while they’re in prison – after Maine and Vermont, and the District of Columbia.

Current Illinois voter law must be changed because it is racially unfair, the advocates say. Their proposed changes would add about 28,000 prisoners to Illinois’ voter rolls. Most importantly, nearly 55 percent, Illinois Department of Corrections’ records as of December 2021 show, are African-American:

Statewide population demographics would make Illinois the first state with a substantial percentage of black residents that allows felons the right to vote while they are serving their prison sentences.

It’s not a new movement. It’s just one that has been gaining steam in the past few years.

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont wrote in a 2019 USA Today op ed that allowing prison voting would begin correcting America’s broken criminal justice system he deemed as “systemically racist,” which enables “mass incarceration” as a “tool of voter suppression.”

But how appropriate is it for criminals to maintain the right to vote while they are in prison?

“Nearly every state recognizes the wisdom of preventing prisoners from voting,” former Heritage Foundation legal analyst Jason Snead wrote in a 2019 Chicago Tribune opinion on the issue. “There is simply no reason that those who have shown they cannot follow the law ought to have a say in crafting it or electing those who will enforce it.”

Snead wrote that felons show through their actions that they do not deserve society’s implicit trust.

“They do deserve a second chance, but the burden is theirs to demonstrate that they have become law-abiding and upstanding citizens in other words, the very people we want to be voting,” he said.

Illinois’ Department of Corrections records indicate the top ten crimes current state prisoners have committed range from homicide to robbery:

How comfortable should Illinoisans be to welcome imprisoned murderers, rapists, violent attackers, thieves and drug violators as making the crucial votes to determine who serves in the Executive Branch, in the Illinois General Assembly and on the state’s judicial benches?

Currently, Illinois is one of 21 states that returns voting rights to prisoners once they’ve completed their sentences. That is a liberal stand compared to sixteen states that restore voting rights only after prison, parole and probation are completed and another nine states that permanently deny voting rights to convicted felons.

Illinois, a state politically-controlled in all three branches by Bernie Sanders’ sympathizers, is the perfect place to stoke the voting rights’ fire, Chicago Votes representatives said in a recent WBEZ radio interview.

Lawmakers in general are interested in voting rights’ restoration, the representatives said.  They are much more open to the movement in Illinois than other states.

It matters who casts votes in Illinois. The state’s election rolls are in dire need of being scoured of former residents and deceased voters. Adding criminals still serving their time would not make Illinois a better place for law-abiding citizens to live and raise their families.

Share your thoughts with your state lawmakers as they most certainly will face another vote on SB 828 during the ongoing legislative session.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to send a message to your State Senator and State Representative to ask them to vote NO to SB 828. The majority of voters in Illinois do not want violent prisoners casting ballots for candidates who are running for the legislative, judicial and executive branches of government.

If you don’t get involved on this issue, your voice and vote could be muffled by an imprisoned murderer.

Two years after legalizing “recreational” marijuana, some foolish lawmakers are sprinting ahead with legislation to allow for Illinoisans 21 and older to grow up to 5 marijuana plants in their home. The bill number is HB 4799 and is sponsored by Carol Ammons (D-Urbana), Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago), Kambium Buckner (D-Chicago) and Aaron Ortiz (D-Chicago).

There is ample evidence to demonstrate that home grows are a recipe for disaster. The state of Colorado, which legalized pot in 2012, is a prime example of bad marijuana policy. We often use Colorado as our reference point because they have the best data in the nation when it comes to drugs, thanks to the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.

Colorado allows marijuana to be grown in homes. As a result, foreign drug cartels have cashed in and the black-market is thriving. And with that, comes more crime.

In many cases, high-end homes in the suburbs are purchased for cash. They are gutted and millions of dollars worth of marijuana plants are grown. It’s untaxed and unregulated. Because the black-market is thriving in Colorado, it’s also easier and cheaper for students to obtain the drug. (Click here to access their latest report.)

Home grows have become the new “gray market” in Colorado because it’s virtually impossible to regulate what people do in their homes.

Marijuana-related calls to the Illinois Poison Control Center have increased since legalization. Do we want more accidental poisonings?

• • 2019 – 487 calls
  • 2020 – 743 calls
  • 2021 – 855 calls

HB 4799 is scheduled for a hearing in the Executive Committee on Wednesday, February 16th.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to file a witness slip in opposition to HB 4799.

-Fill out your name, address, email and phone number. Leave everything else blank or put self.
-Highlight “Opponent” and “Record of Appearance Only.”
-Check Terms of Agreement and click Create Slip.

MORE ACTION:  Click HERE to email your state representative to urge him/her to oppose HB 4799.

The true impact of “recreational” marijuana on our communities is just starting to be learned, so why are we rushing ahead to expand this experiment? The negative consequences of legalizing recreational marijuana will be felt for generations.

Thank you!
Your willingness to fill out witness slips are making a huge difference!

Illinoisans who are struggling to make ends meet as the Democrat-ruled state teeters on the knife edge of insolvency and whose children are suffering grievously from social isolation and missed milestones that can never be recovered have been waiting for the General Assembly to take action. Illinois families of diverse colors, especially those who lack the financial resources to weather a pandemic, a grossly inept response to a pandemic, government corruption, and decades of egregiously irresponsible economic policies have little choice but to wait for tyrannical, inept, irresponsible and corrupt leaders to help them.

As dispirited Illinoisans waited with labored breath for help, Illinois Senator Julie Morrison (D-Lake Forest) came to the rescue, introducing a bill on January 21, 2022 that if passed will amend a gazillion “Acts concerning children.”

With hopes raised a smidge, Illinoisans wondered how Morrison would help their children.

Maybe Morrison is addressing the urgent need to get children back in school—unmasked.

Maybe she’s calling for school choice, so impoverished families will have the freedom to choose how their children are educated.

Maybe she’s addressing the bloated pensions of teachers that bleed Illinoisans dry.

Maybe she is taking on public schools like those in Deerfield whose “educators” teach obscene material to other people’s children.

Maybe she’s addressing the scourge of children in the womb being slaughtered or taxpayer-funding of human slaughter.

Maybe she’s addressing the plague of fatherlessness that harms boys, resulting in criminal activity and urban decay.

Maybe she’s got a plan to weaken the power of teachers’ unions that care more about preventing teachers from teaching and about setting social policy unrelated to education than they do about children.

Maybe, Morrison will try to get “comprehensive” sex ed and “lgb” and “t” advocacy out of our publicly subsidized kindergartens.

Oh no, Morrison’s proposed bill “concerning children,” SB 3961, (and HB 4626 in the Illinois House) addresses far more urgent issues.  Morrison along with chief co-sponsor Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake) who jumped aboard on Monday, and co-sponsors Laura Fine (D-Glenview) and Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) have introduced a bill that will expunge every occurrence of the pronouns “he,” “she,” “his,” and “her” from existing laws pertaining to children. These women (can’t be too sure these days) also seek to bowdlerize laws that mention “uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, great-uncle, great-aunt, step mother, step father, step sister, step brother.”

In a giant leap for personkind, Morrison proposes changing references to a “mother” or a “mother who gives birth” to a “person who gives birth.”

Ahhhh, finally, a real proposal to help suffering Illinoisans, many of whom are making plans to hightail it out of the state. Illinois will once again be a grand and glorious place to raise children when all biologically based pronouns and terms are expunged from law and, it is hoped, from our collective memory. When the heartland never again permits public recognition of the bi-biodiversity (i.e., the sexual dimorphism) of the human species, Illinoisans can stop worrying and be happy. And Morrison and her collaborators can pat themselves vigorously on the back for a dirty job well done.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to send a message to your state lawmakers to ask them to vote down SB 3961 and HB 4626. You may want to point out that the people of Illinois do not want lawmakers to re-write the English language to accommodate the demands of a group of left-wing ideologues. They have other priorities that demand their attention during this abbreviated session. Spending time to push legislation that would eliminate pronouns is a non-starter.

Please also contact your state senator by phone during normal business hours via the Capitol switchboard: (217) 782-2000.

Listen to this article read by Laurie:

https://staging.illinoisfamily.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Illinois-Democrats-Plan-to-Save-the-State.mp3

Springfield state lawmakers are absolutely tone deaf. Can you believe that another Leftist has introduced yet another bill to make your private health records public when they are, and should remain, absolutely private?

A little more than a week ago State Representative Deb Conroy (D-Villa Park), introduced HB 4640, the Access to Public Health Data Act. This proposal would:

“make any and all public health data related to residents of that local health department’s jurisdiction available to that local health department for the purposes of preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability.”

The bill also states that:

“…the Department of Public Health, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Children and Family Services may adopt any rules necessary to implement the Act.”

In other words, your private medical records would be made available to other agencies for “the purposes of preventing or controlling disease…”. Sound familiar?

We have repeatedly seen attempts to do away with the protection and privacy of personal medical information. Just last week Illinois residents flooded the Illinois General Assembly with opposition to a similar bill, HB 4244, which would have created a vaccine registry through the Department of Public Health. HB 4640 would include “any and all public health data” including vaccine records.

HB 4640 has been assigned to the Human Services Committee and is scheduled for a hearing this Wednesday, February 2, 2022, at 9:00 AM. Please take a minute to file a witness slip in opposition.

Take Action: Please click HERE to file a witness slip in opposition to HB 4640.

-Fill out your name, address, email and phone number. Leave everything else blank or put self.
-Highlight “Opponent” and “Record of Appearance Only.”
-Check Terms of Agreement and click Create Slip.

Please click HERE to urge your state representative to oppose HB 4640. Ask “why” they suddenly need this information and “how” they plan on using it in the future. Point out that this is a huge overreach of government and will only foster distrust in public health.

Do you know how your state elected officials voted during this first half of the 102nd General Assembly?  If not, that’s not a problem! IFI has done the work for you by compiling the voting records of all 188 state representatives and the senators in those districts.

Over 7,000 bills have been introduced since the start of 2021.  We have chosen 14 of them, most of which have passed and been signed into law by the governor. Note that once passed in both Chambers of the General Assembly, a bill would simply have to sit on the governor’s desk for 60 days to automatically become law. But the fact that Governor Pritzker has signed these bills, demonstrates that he is in full support of the radical progressive agenda being pushed forward in Springfield.

The state representatives are listed in alphabetical order. Click HERE to find your state rep. Then come back to this page and click on his/her name. Please share this information with your neighbors. friends, and family.

Carol Ammons

Jaime Andrade

Dagmara Avelar

Mark Batinick

Thomas Bennett

Chris Bos

Avery Bourne

Dan Brady

Kambium Buckner

Kelly Burke

Tim Butler

Jonathan Carroll

Kelly Cassidy

Dan Caulkins

Andrew Chesney

Lakesia Collins

Deb Conroy

Terra Costa Howard

Fred Crespo

Margaret Croke

John D’Amico

C.D. Davidsmeyer

William Davis

Eva Dina Delgado

Anthony DeLuca

Tom Demmer

Daniel Didech

Jim Durkin

Amy Elik

Marcus Evans

Mary Flowers

La Shawn Ford

Randy Frese

David Friess

Robyn Gabel

Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz

Edgar Gonzalez

Jehan Gordon-Booth

Amy Grant

La Toya Greenwood

Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar

Will Guzzardi

Jackie Haas

Brad Halbrook

Michael Halpin

Norine Hammond

Sonya Harper

Greg Harris

Barbara Hernandez

Elizabeth Hernandez

Maura Hirschauer

Jay Hoffman

Frances Hurley

Paul Jacobs

Thaddeus Jones

Jeff Keicher

Stephanie Kifowit

Lindsey LaPointe

Seth Lewis

Camille Lilly

Mark Luft

Theresa Mah

Natalie Manley

Michael Marron

Joyce Mason

Rita Mayfield

Deanne Mazzochi

Tony McCombie

Martin McLaughlin

Charles Meier

Debbie Meyers-Martin

Chris Miller

Anna Moeller

Bob Morgan

Thomas Morrison

Martin Moylan

Mike Murphy

Michelle Mussman

Suzanne Ness

Cyril Nichols

Adam Niemerg

Aaron Ortiz

Tim Ozinga

Delia Ramirez

Steven Reick

Robert Rita

Lamont Robinson

Sue Scherer

Dave Severin

Justin Slaughter

Nicholas Smith

Keith Sommer

Joe Sosnowski

Ryan Spain

Anne Stava-Murray

Bradley Stephens

Denyse Wang Stoneback

Katie Stuart

Daniel Swanson

Curtis Tarver

Dan Ugaste

Dave Vella

Mark Walker

Lawrence Walsh

Tom Weber

Emanuel Chris Welch

David Welter

Maurice West

Keith Wheeler

Blaine Wilhour

Ann Williams

Jawaharial Williams

Kathleen Willis

Patrick Windhorst

Janet Yang Rohr

Lance Yednock

Sam Yingling

Michael Zalewski

Written by Austin Scott Davies

Article II Section 1 of the Illinois Constitution provides that “[t]he legislative, executive and judicial branches are separate. No branch shall exercise powers properly belonging to another. Article VI Section 1 provides that “[t]he judicial power is vested in a Supreme Court, an Appellate Court and Circuit Courts.”

With the passage of Senate Bill 1169 (SB 1169), Governor JB Pritzker and his cronies have attempted to usurp the exclusive power of the judicial branch of government.

To fully appreciate what Illinois Democrats have done here, let’s first examine the Health Care Right of Conscience Act. The legislators who passed The Health Care Right of Conscience Act (“HCRCA”) included within it a policy statement so that it would be abundantly clear to all Illinoisans what their intent was. The pertinent part reads,

The General Assembly finds and declares that people and organizations hold different beliefs about whether certain health care services are morally acceptable. It is the public policy of the State of Illinois to respect and protect the right of conscience of all persons who refuse to obtain, receive or accept, or who are engaged in, the delivery of, arrangement for, or payment of health care services and medical care whether acting individually, corporately, or in association with other persons; and to prohibit all forms of discrimination.

The HCRCA prohibits any discrimination against those refusing to receive health care services that are contrary to his or her conscience. It states as follows:

It shall be unlawful for any person, public or private institution, or public official to discriminate against any person in any manner, including but not limited to, licensing, hiring, promotion, transfer, staff appointment, hospital, managed care entity, or any other privileges, because of such person’s conscientious refusal to receive, obtain, accept, perform, assist, counsel, suggest, recommend, refer or participate in any way in any particular form of health care services contrary to his or her conscience.

Discrimination by employers or institutions is specifically prohibited again in another part of the act:

It shall be unlawful for any public or private employer, entity, agency, institution, official or person, including but not limited to, a medical, nursing or other medical training institution, to deny admission because of, to place any reference in its application form concerning, to orally question about, to impose any burdens in terms or conditions of employment on, or to otherwise discriminate against, any applicant, in terms of employment, admission to or participation in any programs for which the applicant is eligible, or to discriminate in relation thereto, in any other manner, on account of the applicant’s refusal to receive, obtain, accept, perform, counsel, suggest, recommend, refer, assist or participate in any way in any forms of health care services contrary to his or her conscience.

Now, let’s turn to why the HCRCA has been put in the spotlight. Governor Pritzker, who has been attempting to rule the State of Illinois by executive fiat since the spring of 2020 under the guise of COVID-19 mitigation measures, has been recently losing in court.

The governor’s “mandate” that employers require vaccination or testing of all employees has been enforced voluntarily by many public and private employers, despite there being nothing in Illinois law to provide for enforcement of these executive orders. As a result, the HCRCA has been successfully used to obtain restraining orders against those mandating COVID-19 related mRNA injections and testing for COVID-19, without exemption for those who object to receiving that health care based on their moral beliefs.

All Illinois laws that require other vaccines provide for exemptions based either on religion or on proving that you have natural immunity from already contracting whatever disease the inoculation is intended to prevent. Pritzker’s “mandates” are different, because there are no exemptions provided for in state law when an employer requires you to receive a COVID-19 shot, and never has there been a requirement that otherwise healthy people receive a test for a disease that they have no suspicion of having in order to coerce someone to receive an unwanted vaccine. For those reasons, the HCRCA’s protections have been the last line of defense against these tyrannical mandates.

That’s why the governor, through his cronies in the legislature, tried to rush through SB 1169 during the fall veto session. In less than 24 hours, from October 25-26, the first (HFA 2) amendment to the original shell bill, which is similar to what was ultimately passed, received over 50,000 witness slips in opposition.

On October 27, the bill was amended again by Illinois House Floor Amendment 3 with no substantive changes, likely so that it could be sent to the Illinois Senate to concur without having all those opposing witness slips attached. Constituents took notice of this maneuver, and within only a couple of hours filed tens of thousands of witness slips in opposition to SB 1129 as amended by HFA 3.

The full text of SB 1169 reads:

It is not a violation of this Act for any person or public official, or for any public or private association, agency, corporation, entity, institution, or employer, to take any measures or impose any requirements, including, but not limited to, any measures or requirements that involve provision of services by a physician or health care personnel, intended to prevent contraction or transmission of COVID-19 or any pathogens that result in COVID-19 or any of its subsequent iterations. It is not a violation of this Act to enforce such measures or requirements. This Section is a declaration of existing law and shall not be construed as a new enactment. Accordingly, this Section shall apply to all actions commenced or pending on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly. Nothing in this Section is intended to affect any right or remedy under federal law.

It may not be readily apparent what the governor is trying to do here. It might appear that through this bill, the legislature was amending the HCRCA to carve out an exception that would remove its protection of people’s right to object based on their conscience to unwanted health care related to COVID-19.

However, that’s not what the legislature did here. By including in the bill the sentence, “This Section is a declaration of existing law and shall not be construed as a new enactment,” this renders what would otherwise be an exception for COVID-19 nothing more than a resolution and statement from this general assembly of what they believe was the intent of the previous legislature that enacted the Health Care Right of Conscience Act and its other amendments. Resolutions are merely statements of opinion. They aren’t amendments, and they certainly don’t change the law.

The absurdity of this is astounding. The legislature here has said that they believe that the HCRCA, which states that “[i]t is the public policy of the State of Illinois to respect and protect the right of conscience of all persons who refuse to obtain, receive or accept … health care services and medical care … and to prohibit all forms of discrimination,” meant to say something like “except if it relates in any way to COVID-19.” Not only is this absurd and contrary to the plain language and ordinary meaning of the HCRCA, but also this is an unconstitutional attempt of the legislature to take on the role of the judiciary by interpreting what the intent of the HCRCA is.

In Illinois House and Illinois Senate debates when Republicans argued for the preservation of Illinoisans’ rights and of the HCRCS, Democrats and the Office of the Attorney General admitted that this bill came from the Governor. They admitted that the Attorney General needed his legislation to pass to help him in his fight against the people of Illinois using the HCRCA to protect their natural, God-given right to refuse health care based on their conscience.

What they didn’t admit, is that Senate Bill 1169 was meant to confuse the people of Illinois and coerce them into complying with mandates that they have no legal obligation to follow. The Illinois constitution prevents the Illinois legislature from interpreting the intent of the HCRCA. Only the courts have the power to interpret statutes and Illinois courts have given every indication that they believe the intent of the HCRCA was to protect all people in Illinois from receiving health care in violation of their conscience.

The Health Care Right of Conscience Act still protects your right to refuse COVID-19 related health care based on your conscience.

Austin Scott Davies is an attorney and founder of Midwest Legal Care , former prosecutor, and an active member of the Winnebago County Republican Party. He is also a board member for Concerned Citizens for America, a local chapter of Illinois Family Institute.

The information contained in this article is not legal advice and is for general information purposes only. Do not act or refrain from acting on the basis of this information. Readers should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any legal matter.

In March of 2020, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor JB Pritzker issued a series of emergency orders. Executive Order 2020-04, issued on March 13, 2020, was the governor’s first time seizing emergency power. Under the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act, the governor can issue a state of emergency declaring a disaster within the state, giving himself 30 days of emergency power. The governor, in a state of emergency, has complete control over all state institutions and public health. Although the measure intends to streamline governmental response in times of disaster, Governor Pritzker exploited a loophole in the law and reissued the executive order 22 times.

The governor reissued the executive order on October 15th extending his emergency powers until November 13th. At the time of the most recent order, the state had been in a continuous state of emergency for 581 days. As of October 20th, Pritzker has issued 91 executive orders, many of which have no connection to COVID. The legislature is not meeting to address this issue, and our representatives are prevented from fulfilling their duty to their constituency. 

As a result of the restrictions on the Illinois General Assembly, a great deal of state business has been left undone, and the voices of Illinois citizens have gone unheard. State Representatives Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva), Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield), Avery Bourne (R-Morrisonville), and Norine Hammond (R-Macomb) held a press conference on Wednesday, October 20th, to discuss the problem and how Republican members of the Illinois House intend to respond. Several representatives have joined together to try to end the governor’s unilateral rule. Rep. Ugaste has authored HB 843, a bill allowing the governor to extend a 30-day declaration of emergency – but only with the written approval of the Illinois General Assembly obtained within five days of the extension. This bill would also allow the General Assembly to adopt a joint resolution declaring the extension void.

Watch the video of their press conference here below:

Currently, the bill is stalled in the Rules Committee, unable to be brought to a vote in the House. The Rules Committee consists of State Representatives Greg Harris (D-13th District), Dan Brady (R-105th District), Tom Demmer (R-90th District), Jehan Gordon-Booth (D-92nd District), and Elizabeth Hernandez (D-24th District). Unless the Rules Committee meets to discuss the bill, it will not go forward. In the previous General Assembly, Rep. Ugaste authored HB 5790, a bill requiring the same approval for extending emergency rule. As the bill never went forward, Rep. Ugaste is resubmitting it to the current 102nd General Assembly as HB 843.

Unilateral rule by Governor Pritzker has created a tyrannical government in our state. The U.S. Constitution and the Illinois Constitution ensure a system of checks and balances intended to prevent dictatorships from forming and allow for the people’s representation. By utilizing a continuous state of emergency, Governor Pritzker has set himself up as a de facto king.

Pritzker has issued numerous orders without a single public debate or hearing. The impact of this tyrannical rule is devastating. Rep. Batinick noted that the broad-spectrum rules of school closures and masking are not always beneficial and may have lasting effects on income gaps and education. He also stated that, although the removal of mandates might not occur even if the legislature were meeting, nevertheless, all rules and orders should be open to a public debate in which experts could testify. Without public debate and complete transparency, the people of Illinois will continue to suffer from governmental overreach.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to let your state lawmakers know that you oppose the continued unilateral rule of Governor Pritzker and the lack of checks and balances in our state government. Please ask them to co-sponsor HB 843. Also, demand that this bill get a hearing in committee so that it can advance to the Illinois House for a vote. 

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I know we shouldn’t be surprised. We know intuitively and intellectually that the nature of Big Government is tyranny. Yet I was stunned to watch Illinois Democratic State Lawmakers intentionally and aggressively pursue an agenda to diminish the civil rights of its people. Not only did they attack health care conscience rights protections, but they also repealed Illinois’ last major abortion regulation which ensured the rights of parents/guardians to be notified when their minor daughter seeks to have an abortion.

Thankfully, not one Republican state lawmaker voted for these tyrannical proposals.

The second half of the 2021 Veto Session started on Tuesday where the Illinois Senate Executive Committee heard testimony on HB 370, the legislation to repeal the Parental Notice of Abortion Act. A few hours later, it was sent to the Illinois Senate floor, debated and then passed by a vote of 32-22, with 5 senators not voting.

The bill was sent to the Illinois House Executive Committee on Wednesday, where it was debated and sent to the Illinois House floor. The bill was taken up for debate Wednesday evening where it was debated and then passed by a vote a 64-52 with 2 voting present. You can watch and/or listen to the debate here below:

Myles Holmes, IFI Board member and pastor of Revive Church in Collinsville emphatically points out that

“government is not God and has no right to usurp the place of parents in the instruction and direction of their children’s lives. The passage of this onerous bill demonstrates the Marxist control that Democrats want over our families. The first response of Christian families must be to remove their children from government control in the public schools, and the second  is to work hard to remove these politicians in the next election.”

Governor JB Pritzker is expected to sign it into law. According to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times, Pritzker “vowed” to sign the bill saying, “At a time when reproductive rights are under attack across the country, Illinois is protecting those critical reproductive rights.” The article does not explain that reproductive “rights” is literally license to kill pre-born human beings.

Conscience Rights

Immediately preceding their vote to usurp parental rights, the Illinois House of Representative decided to quash conscience rights when they took up and debated SB 1169. This bill diminishes the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act — specifically for COVID-19 remediation. In other words, the sponsors of this amendment intends to curtail the safeguard that existed in state law that allowed citizens to refuse the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The bill passed the Illinois House by a vote a 64-52 with 2 voting present. UPDATE: Late Thursday night (10/28/2021), the Illinois Senate concurred with the Illinois House and passed this bill by a vote of 31-24.

The chief sponsor of this legislator, State Representatives Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston), repeatedly argued that the original intent of the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act was about abortion, birth control and sterilization and was crafted to protect healthcare professionals. In other words, it was not intended to protect people who want to avoid experimental and/or dubious medical treatments and/or the unmerciful despotism of vaccine mandates.

But the fact is, many who oppose being forced to take the COVID vaccine against their will firmly believe, as do we, that the Health Care Right of Conscience Act protects all citizens. You can read it for yourself.

(745 ILCS 70/5) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 5305)
Sec. 5. Discrimination. It shall be unlawful for any person, public or private institution, or public official to discriminate against any person in any manner, including but not limited to, licensing, hiring, promotion, transfer, staff appointment, hospital, managed care entity, or any other privileges, because of such person’s conscientious refusal to receive, obtain, accept, perform, assist, counsel, suggest, recommend, refer or participate in any way in any particular form of health care services contrary to his or her conscience.
(Source: P.A. 90-246, eff. 1-1-98.)

You can watch and/or listen to the debate here below:

Calvin Lindstrom, IFA board member and pastor of Church of Christian Liberty in Arlington Heights, is disgusted with Illinois politics, saying:

I hate to say this, but Illinois is a failed state in terms of political government. We have been dealing with a governor who for over 18 months passes executive orders with very little challenge from other elected officials. On these important matters the legislative branch is useless. And then unfortunately when the legislative branch does decide to pass legislation it follows an agenda rather than listening to the citizens of this state. There was no grass roots movement among citizens of Illinois to remove parental notification when a minor seeks to obtain an abortion. And in the face of massive opposition to changing the law over rights of conscience with respect to health care, our lawmakers again follow an agenda with no real concern for the voices of citizens.

I can speak personally to this when I met my own state representative, Mark Walker, in the state capitol building on Tuesday. I tried to engage him in conversation on Parental Notification for Abortion. I asked him his position and he said something like, “It’s an obvious choice.” I asked, what does that mean. He responded by saying, he was voting for repeal for the safety of women. He then walked off in a very rude manner. Perhaps he had somewhere to go, but his dismissive manner was not appreciated.

This is not a time for weakness or capitulation even though we are sorrowful, frustrated, and righteously angry. The psalm our church is using for this week, Psalm 68, is a good prayer for God’s people to follow. “Let God arise, Let His enemies be scattered; Let those also who hate Him flee before Him.” (Psalm 68:1).

Both of these bills will soon be sent to the Governor’s office for his consideration. While he has publicly declared his support for these feckless bills, you may want to call his office to let him know that many Illinois residents oppose the eradication of the parental notice statute and the amendment to our conscience rights protection law. His phone number in Springfield is (217) 782-6830. His phone number in Chicago is (312) 814-2121.

As we reported earlier, the Illinois Senate Executive Committee heard testimony on HB 370 yesterday afternoon — legislation to repeal the Parental Notice of Abortion Act. A few hours later, it was sent to the Illinois Senate floor, debated and then passed by a vote of 32-22, with 5 senators not voting.

The bill is now in the Illinois House Executive Committee for consideration. We only have a short time to fill out witness slips in opposition to Senate Amendment 1.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to fill out a witness slip in OPPOSITION to HB 370, Senate Amendment 1.

Witness Slip Instructions:

Section I. Enter your name, address, city and zip code. You can leave Firm/Business and Title blank. If it won’t allow you to leave them black, enter self.

Section II. Leave it blank if you are not representing a group, or enter self.

Section III. Check that you are an Opponent to this feckless proposal.

Section IV. Unless you are filing a written statement, select Record of Appearance Only.

Lastly, check that you agree to the terms of agreement.

Click Create (Slip).

More ACTION: Take a moment right now to call your State Representative in Springfield! Click HERE to find his/her office’s phone numbers and give him/her a call!

Even More ACTION: If you haven’t sent a message to your state lawmaker yet, please do so now. We must take advantage of every opportunity to make sure that our legislators hear from us on this life-and-death policy. Click HERE to contact your State Representative to let him/her know that most Illinois parents oppose repealing the Parental Notice of Abortion Act.

Vitally Important — PRAY! Pray frequently and fervently to Almighty God about this issue. Pray that hearts and minds are convicted of the truth. Pray that opposition to repealing the PNA would grow. Pray that abortion activists fail to get the 60 votes they need in the Illinois House. 

Thank you for taking action!

Please support the work and ministry of IFI.  

Your tax-deductible donation is greatly appreciated!

Just in time for LGBTQ Pride Month, the Illinois Senate passed House Bill 2590 requiring county clerks to issue new marriage certificates upon request to reflect legal name changes for transgender and non-binary individuals. It passed by a vote of 82 to 28 in the House on April 22, 2021 and by a vote of 49 to 5 in the Illinois Senate on May 28, 2021.

State Senator Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), the sponsor of the bill, also sponsored Senate Bill 139 which passed in both the Illinois House and Illinois Senate a few weeks earlier and allows the removal of “gendered” language from marriage certificates. This proposal passed out of the Illinois Senate on April 21, 2021 by a vote of 44 to 13, and out of the Illinois House on May 19, 2021 by a vote of 78 to 30.

However, Feigenholtz didn’t believe SB 139 went far enough. “Non-binary and transgender individuals should be able to have a marriage license that lists their correct name,” she said.

Hence, the introduction of HB 2590, which bars any additional markings alluding to the individual’s former name from appearing on the new marriage certificates. The bill only allows county clerks can only change names on marriage certificates when the marriage occurred in Illinois and legal documentation of the name change is provided.

People in the nonbinary and transgender communities along with their allies’ say the use of their former names, called “deadnaming,” is offensive and causes them trauma. That is why Feigenholtz and others say they pushed for HB 2590s passage.

Another bill, HB 9, also supported by the LGBTQ community, narrowly missed passage in the spring legislative session. HB 9 would have required the State Registrar of Records to establish a new birth certificate when receiving a signed statement (called self-attestation) that an individual has undergone treatment for the purpose of gender transition. Under current law, a treating doctor must sign off on the change.

While the bill passed in the Illinois House by a vote of 66 to 45, it failed to pass by one vote in the Illinois Senate and was placed on postponed consideration. The bill can be brought back up for another vote at any time the Senate convenes during this session.

House Bill 9 was introduced by State Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D-Glenview) who describes it as aligning “with the requirements for driver’s licenses in Illinois that do not require a doctor’s note.”

Proponents of the bill claim the change is needed to aid transgender and binary persons secure vital documents even if they have not transitioned medically. So, if the bill were to pass, an individual would only have to state that they are different gender to have their gender changed on their birth certificate. No medical proof of medical intervention would be necessary.

Capitol News Illinois (CNI) reported Myles Brady Davis, press secretary and director of communication at Equality Illinois, told a House Committee, “Access to a birth certificate is the first step in securing important identity documents needed for many aspects of daily life.”

CRY OUT FOR CHILDREN: Join us on Thursday, July 1st for a Pro-Family Rally and Jericho Prayer March at the Illinois governor’s mansion in Springfield.

Illinois Family Institute is calling for pro-family Illinoisans to rally at 410 E. Jackson St. from 11:30 AM until 12:30 PM to pray and recite scripture, to sing hope into darkness, and to call on the Lord’s blessing as we answer His call to “rescue the weak and the needy, and deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

Click HERE for a flyer

At the end of last month, a majority of Illinois lawmakers in both chambers of the General Assembly voted in favor of expanding radical “comprehensive” sex education from Kindergarten through 12th grade in public schools.

This terrible bill (SB 818) was sent to the Governor on Friday, June 25th.

If Governor Pritzker signs this bill into law, all public schools in Illinois that want to offer any health or safety education–or even abstinence education–will have no choice regarding the content of their teaching. It does not matter how conservative the community is. It does not matter if local school board members want curricula with standards consistent with Judeo-Christian sexuality ethics. Any school that chooses to teach health or safety classes must use a curriculum that aligns with the National Sexuality Standards from SIECUS.

Illinois Christians cannot remain silent. Their money will be subsidizing these materials and the salaries of those who teach them.

As if that is not bad enough, our state lawmakers passed the “Tampons for Boys” bill that will require all boys’ restrooms in our government schools to provide female hygiene products at no cost to students, thereby reinforcing science-denying leftist lies about “gender.”

Imagine Springfield reverberating with the voices of parents, grandparents, and taxpayers pleading for the protection and welfare of children in our schools! Imagine a call for justice so loud and joyful that the deaf and the dumb among journalists, politicos, and slumbering neighbors will have to take notice.

Take ACTION:  Join us on Thursday, July 1st as we rally, sing, pray, and speak out for the least among us. Starting at 11:30 AM, we will rally with love for our children, our neighbors, and their children in front of the governor’s mansion! (See map HERE.) Bring your families, your youth groups, your small groups, your tea parties, and your pro-life brethren as we shake the foundations of death and indifference in our state’s capital. Signs will be provided.

For more information, click HERE or call (708) 781-9328.

Don’t think for a minute that Springfield Dems are done genuflecting to homosexuals and cross-sex impersonators with the passage of the “Perversion Positive” sex ed bill, the “Free Tampons for Boys” bill, and the “Babies for EVERYONE” bill, which forces insurance companies to pay for “infertility” treatments for single people without sexual partners and homosexuals in naturally non-reproductive relationships. Oh, no, no, no. Morally fluid Springfield decree-makers have barely gotten started.

They also passed along partisan lines a bill (Illinois General Assembly – Full Text of SB1730 (ilga.gov) that amends the Business Corporation Act of 1983, which was written to address the underrepresentation of women and racial minorities on corporate boards. If signed into law, it will take effect this coming January and will require that “public corporations … report the self-identified sexual orientation and self-identified gender identity of its directors.”

If Governor J.B. Pritzker signs this bill into law, any publicly held domestic or foreign corporation with its “principal executive office in Illinois” will be required to submit an annual report to the secretary of state that includes the homoerotic predilections and “trans”-cultic practices of members of its board of directors.

The secretary of state will then send this information to the University of Illinois, which will issue a Chinese-social-credit-like “rating” to each corporation and issue edicts “identify strategies” to coerce corporations to get more homosexuals and cross-sex impersonators on their boards pronto.

Why—some Illinoisans are wondering—is Big Brother constructing ways to force corporations to procure more board members who prefer erotic relations with persons of the same sex and more board members who fancy themselves to be the sex they aren’t and never can be? Silly people, the reason is obvious. Corporate ethics and profitability are constituted by the number of homosexuals and cross-sex impersonators sitting on corporate boards.

There is, however, a problem with this law. This short but powerful tool for “equity” mentions “demographic diversity” three times, and yet, there is no mention of polyamorists—also known as consensual non-monogamists—autogynephiliacs, transableists, or cupiosexuals? Do any corporate boards in Illinois have members who identify as polyamorists, autogynephiliacs, transableists, or cupiosexuals? Does the secretary of state or University of Illinois have that information? If not, why not?

Despite portraying themselves as warriors for “demographic diversity” and “inclusion,” Springfield Democrats apparently want to remain mired on the wrong side of history.

Pulling my tongue out of my cheek, I will try to clarify the intellectual waters that leftists muddy with redefinitions and bad analogies: Neither “sexual orientation”—which really only means homoeroticism—nor cross-sex impersonation is analogous to biological sex or race. Whereas biological sex and race (or skin color) are non-behavioral, objective, 100% heritable, and in all cases immutable conditions, both homoeroticism  and cross-sex impersonation are constituted by subjective and often fluid feelings and volitional behaviors—like polyamory, autogynephilia, transableism, and cupiosexuality. There remains no rational or ethical justification for lawmakers to coerce companies to base board membership on potential board members’ sexual feelings.

The Great Awokening in Illinois continues, and while it does, let’s see how many more corporations and families flee Illinois.

Listen to this article read by Laurie:

https://staging.illinoisfamily.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Springfield-LawmakersGenuflect-to-LGBTQ-Communitym4a.mp3

Watchful citizens should be well aware of the wicked stew of bills being stirred in the caldron of our Capitol.

We are asking for your special prayer and action on one bill in particular, HB 2789, because of a hearing that is scheduled for Thursday morning, May 27th.

HB 2789 is the bill crafted by teacher unions and originally opposed by the Illinois State Board of Education and Illinois Department of Health.  This bill adds an amendment to an existing law which will grant Springfield sole authority to determine whether, when, and under what conditions public schools and “nonpublic schools” can return to in-person instruction in the event of a public health crisis. It takes away local control, and centralizes it in Springfield. Click HERE to learn more.

This troubling bill passed in the Illinois House on April 22nd by a vote of 70-42. It is now up for consideration in the Illinois Senate’s Executive Committee.

Please take three steps in opposing this bill.

1] Please pray that God will work in the hearts of our state senators to OPPOSE this disastrous bill. If you would like to be part of a special time of prayer on Tuesday evening at 8 p.m., please send me an email. I will share a Zoom link with you.

2] Please call your state senator to express your strong opposition to this bill. Look up your elected officials HERE.

3] Fill out a committee witness slip in OPPOSITION by Wednesday morning. Click HERE.

Witness Slip Instructions:

Section I. Enter your name, address, city and zip code. You can leave Firm/Business and Title blank. If it won’t allow you to leave them black, enter NA.

Section II. Leave it blank if you are not representing a group, etc.

Section III. Check that you are an OPPONENT of HB 2789.

Section IV. Unless you are filing a written statement, select Record of Appearance Only.

Lastly, agree to the terms of agreement by checking the box.

Click Create (Slip).

MORE ACTION: Click HERE to send a message to your state senator, asking him/her to vote against HB 2789. If we have learned anything during the COVID-19 lockdown, it is that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. We have local school boards and county health officials who are better positioned to respond to health crises.

With 6 days left before the Illinois General Assembly adjourns for the summer, your local state senator must hear from you. Please! Let them know clearly, but politely, that you vehemently oppose giving unelected bureaucrats at the Department of Public Health in Springfield MORE authority.

Does HB 2789 include private schools and homeschools?  We believe it does. The Catholic Conference of Illinois is lobbying against it. Why? The legislation requires that the Illinois Department of Health “establish requirements by rule for providing in-person instruction at nonpublic schools and public schools…”  The phrase “nonpublic schools” is repeated three times in the bill. Our attorneys and policy experts believe that nonpublic encompass all private schools in the state of Illinois — including home schools. This power grab by Springfield is alarming. Listen to this short video alert by young Ms. Kenna:

Trust in the Lord and act in faith.

Leftists here in Illinois have been heeding the opportunistic control freak Rahm Emanuel’s instruction:

You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.

Most Illinoisans going about their business, working hard and raising children, have heard nothing about the power grab underway right now by leftist swamp creatures in Springfield. As citizens continue to battle governmental authorities—both elected and unelected—who have used the pandemic crisis to usurp our rights, swampsters in Springfield are busy passing legislation to ensure the government will have such ill-gotten powers in perpetuity.

On Thursday, April 22nd, the Illinois House passed along party lines HB 2789, an authoritarian proposal sponsored by State Representative Michelle Mussman (D-Schaumburg). This bill adds an amendment to an existing law, which will grant sole authority to determine whether, when, and under what conditions public and private schools can return to in-person instruction in the event of a public health crisis to the Department of Public Health Powers and Duties.

The Department shall establish requirements by rule for providing in-person instruction at nonpublic schools and public schools that include, but are not limited to, personal protective equipment, cleaning and hygiene, social distancing, occupancy limits, symptom screening, and on-site isolation protocols and shall disseminate information about those requirements to nonpublic schools and public schools with the assistance of the Illinois State Board of Education. The authority to enforce the rules adopted pursuant to this Section lies with the Department and local departments of public health.

If upon investigation, a school is found to be in violation of the rules adopted under this Section, the Department has the authority to take the appropriate action necessary to promote the health or protect the safety of students, staff, and the public, including, but not limited to, closure of a classroom, gym, library, lunch room, or any other school space until such time that the Department determines that the violation or violations have been remedied. Nothing in this Section limits the authority or requirements of the Department or local public health departments.

Don’t be deceived into believing this bill has anything to do with public health and the welfare of children. This bill is solely about the government expanding and retaining control over the lives of citizens.

It is neither the Illinois State Board of Education nor the Illinois Department of Public Health that is lobbying for this bill. The pressure for this dangerous bill is coming from the powerful teachers’ union, the Illinois Education Association (IEA), an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA).  The IEA-NEA, with its insatiable appetite for power, is “demanding” that lawmakers pass this bill.

We have seen federal and state governments issue mandates about masking and school closures for which there is no scientific support. And we have seen state lawmakers genuflect to teachers’ unions that have been making demands wholly irrelevant to COVID-19—demands that harm children.

Local elected school boards, accountable to the people who elect them, must retain control over decisions related to their communities. And neither Springfield swampsters, nor an Illinois governor, nor the Department of Public Health Powers and Duties, nor the appointed and politicized Illinois State Board of Education should have unrestricted authority to control how private schools respond to public health crises.

Why does any Illinoisan think the bureaucrats in corrupt Illinois government (who, by the way, deny school choice to Illinoisans, including disadvantaged children in lousy, dangerous Chicago schools) have the best interests of children in mind or know better how to protect them than do parents and local school districts?

Instead of granting more power to the corrupt, inefficient, feckless, and power-hungry government, let’s starve it.

This bill passed the Illinois House by a partisan vote of 70 to 42. The legislation now moves to the Illinois Senate for consideration, where it is sponsored by State Senator Christopher Belt (D-East St. Louis).

DO SOMETHING!

Take ACTION: Click HERE to send a message to your state senator, asking him/her to vote against HB 2789. If we have learned anything during the COVID-19 lockdown, it is that a one size fits all approach doesn’t work. We have local school boards and county health officials who are better positioned to respond to health crises.

With approximately 5 weeks left before the Illinois General Assembly adjourns for the summer, your local state senator must hear from you. Please! Let them know clearly, but politely, that we vehemently oppose giving bureaucrats at the Department of Public Health Powers in Springfield MORE authority.

Listen to this article read by Laurie:

https://staging.illinoisfamily.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Illinois-Democrats-Trying-to-Give-More-Power-to-Bureaucrats-During-All-Health-Crises.mp3

Please support the work and ministry of IFI.  

Your tax-deductible donation is greatly appreciated!