In With a Bang, Out With a Whimper!

The legislative session that began with a bang (impeachment) has gone out with a whimper--no tax increases, no civil unions, no medical marijuana, no new casinos. The legislature has been in every day since Memorial Day, with several long days (although every day seems long with the other side looks like they're making progress). When I left the Capitol at 1:30 last night, the Senate had adjourned and the House was about to adjourn. There is a budget in place, but it is only 50% of what the Governor requested--what Illinois actually has available to spend.

The Governor is not happy with the budget, and neither are the 31 Senators and the 40 some House members who voted for a huge tax increase--that did not pass. This morning at 10 AM, the Governor begins his meetings with the four legislative leaders to negotiate some kind of increase in funding (tanslation--tax increase) to be able to have a budget that he (and many legislators) believes will be a better budget to meet the needs of the state.

Civil Unions legislation was not called for a vote, which means that the sponsor recognized that he did not have the votes to move it forward. The so-called "Medical" Marijuana bill did not come up for a vote in the House because the votes were not there for it. A vote was taken on the tax increase which the Senate passed Saturday night, but fell short in the House. The Senate passed a massive gambling expansion bill, giving land based casinos to Chicago, Danville, Lake County, and Rockford. It did not come up for a vote in the House.

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Civil Unions Stalled?

Today, even though it was on third reading, SB 1716, the Civil Unions Bill was not voted upon. This clearly indicates that the bill does not have the votes to pass (which is what we have been thinking all along). Thanks to your calls, emails, letters, and prayers, this legislation has fallen short of the 60 votes necessary to pass. While national pressure has been brought to bear on the Illinois House members (calls from legislators supporting civil unions all across America), and intense lobbying pressure has been brought to bear in the State Capitol (12 professional lobbyists along with the lobbyists from the labor unions), and pressure from the news media, this legislation continues to be held at bay.

This is not over until the General Assembly is done in January of 2011, but for the moment, it seems unlikely that the civil unions legislation will come up for a vote--although it still could come up tomorrow. The sponsor of this legislation does not want a national public embarrassment by losing on this legislation, and has stated publicly that he will not bring it up for a vote unless he has the votes lined up.

We thank God that our families continue to be protected from this legislation. Continue to pray for our legislature as they make the final decisions for this Spring.

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Civil Unions Moves to Third Reading in the House

Today all the fiscal notes which were requested on SB 1716, the Civil Unions legislation, were filed, and the bill was moved to third reading in the Illinois House of Representatives. This legislation can be now be called for a vote at any time. An encouraging word: Even with all the lobbyists working for the passage of SB 1716 yesterday, God gave us favor, and we have not lost any of our votes!!!

Tomorrow will be a telling day, for the sponsor of the SB 1716 has indicated that he is not calling the bill for a vote if he does not have the required 60 votes for passage. One of the reporters told me this afternoon that Rep. Greg Harris (D), the sponsor of the Civil Unions legislation, is feeling tremendous pressure to call the bill for a vote because of all the recent developments regarding same-sex marriage and civil unions in other states. However, if he calls the bill for a vote and loses, he will lose face all across the country and with legislators instead of gathering momentum for the same-sex marriage movement.

We are thankful for the many telephone calls and emails that have been coming into the legislature in the last few days, and look forward to a continued outpouring of opposition to this legislation by believers across the state. Prayerfully, carefully, and graciously contact your legislators and let them know that you oppose civil unions.

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Civil Unions Stalled for Today, Moving Tomorrow?

Because of requests for fiscal notes and mandate notes have not yet been filed by the appropriate state agencies, SB 1716 was not able to move from second to third reading today in the Illinois House of Representatives. That does not mean the bill is not going to move!

Today there were more than 12 professional lobbyists working to raise support for SB 1716 in the Illinois Capitol. These are not amateurs, but professional, highly paid lobbyists. Along with those lobbyists, there are lobbyists from the major labor unions working in support of Civil Unions. Ralph Rivera and I have been working this legislation feverishly, trying to hold the line. Thankfully, we have been consistently working this legislation the entire year, so we have a good roll call and know where most legislators will be on this issue. That does not mean we can become complacent.

In 2005, the Gay Rights legislation was at least 6 votes away from passage on the day it passed. After the Governor and Senate President spent the afternoon cutting deals (one of the legislators involved said we would not believe the deals that were cut), suddenly the votes were there for the passage of the bill. We cannot underestimate the possibility of this happening. Therefore, to be safe, we need a powerful outpouring of sentiment by the people of Illinois opposing Civil Unions.

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Civil Unions Legislation on Second Reading in the Illinois House

SB 1716, amended to become the Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act in the House Youth and Families Committee yesterday, is stalled on second reading in the House due to a request by Rep. David Reis for a Fiscal Note, a States Mandate Fiscal Note, a Home Rule Note, a Judicial Note, and a Pensions Note. Before a bill can be moved from second reading (where it goes when it is passed out of a committee), all notes must be filed before moving to third reading. The only note which has been filed at this point is the Pensions Note, meaning that the earliest the bill can be moved from second to third reading is tomorrow (if all the notes are filed). This continues to buy time for Illinois citizens to call their state legislators asking them to vote NO on SB 1716, the Civil Unions legislation. As mentioned yesterday, this legislation states that a "Party to a Civil Union" means..."spouse". This is same-sex marriage by a different name, and will be challenged in the courts as being discriminatory. If you have not done so, please call your state representatives and senators, asking them to vote NO on SB 1716, the Civil Unions legislation!

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SB 1716 Amended to Become Civil Unions Bill!!!

As we enter the final week of this Spring's legislative session, things are moving quickly in Springfield. This afternoon the House Youth and Families Committee voted 4-2 to amend SB 1716 to become the Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions bill. The language remains the same as HB 2234.

Why the change in bill number?

If HB 2234 remained the Civil Unions legislation, it would have to be read three times in the Senate and go through a Senate Committee before being voted upon. The posting requirements for legislation would require waiting for at least 6 days to allow public input on the legislation. By amending SB 1716, a bill which has gone through a committee meeting in the Senate already and has already had all three readings, the Homosexual Lobby can theoretically pass the bill out of the House, and and within hours have the Senate vote to concur with the House Amendment. This is a legal but crafty move to try to make sure that their legislation (if they can acquire the required number of votes) will be able to pass out of the General Assembly before the legislature adjourns on May 31.

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