Headlines

• Dysfunctional Government Continues
  
• McDonald’s Supports the  Homosexual Agenda
• Thank You for Your Help!
• Schedule for  2008

Dysfunctional Government Continues

On Tuesday, August 12, the Illinois General Assembly was called back into special session at 3 PM to deal with education funding, by Governor Rod Blagojavich. The Governor had no proposals on the table for the legislators to consider regarding education funding. Furthermore, the Governor, who said he called the special session at the request of the Black Caucus, said he was disappointed that they did not offer him any suggestions.

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The information below comes from American Family Association. I appreciate their position on this issue, and believe action is necessary regarding McDonalds and their support of same-sex marriage. When a McDonald's spokesman has accused those opposed to same-sex marriage "are motivated by hate", it is high time to stop any financial support of McDonalds!!! A gracious stand by Christians on behalf of biblical morality is necessary. (I know your children and grandchildren enjoy going to McDonalds and playing in their playland, but we need to do this on THEIR behalf as well.)

Please respond to AFA, email your friends, and pass the flyer along to your local McDonalds. Thank you for your willingness to act.

In His Service,

Rev. Bob

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The Governor has called a special session for Wednesday, July 9, asking that the House of Representatives to pass the Funds Sweeps Bill, allowing the governor to sweep money from line items in the budget to use where he deems necessary. Indications are that the governor will call another special session for Thursday, July 10, if the House does not go along with his recommendations.

Indications are that the governor will put pressure on the legislature to pass the Capital Plan, or the "jobs bill", whatever catchy name you want to call it. Specifically, the House will be pressured to pass legislation the Senate has already passed, such as HB 1496, to Lease the Lottery, and HB 2651, which will include a massive gambling expansion. The gambling expansion will include:

• Two land-based casinos with over 4,000 gambling positions each, and an additional riverboat casino in a economically depressed area. One land-based casino is to be owned by the City of Chicago, the other by the State of Illinois.
• There will be slots added at the race tracks along with betting on horses at county fairs.
• Advanced Deposit Wagering will authorize internet gambling on horse racing.
• 3,600 more gambling positions will be added to the current casinos.

Call your state representative at 217-782-2000 and ask him/her to vote "NO" on HB 1496 and HB 2651.

Headlines

• Legislature Passes ‘09 Budget
  
• The California Court’s Marriage Ruling
• Thanks for Your Support
• Schedule for  2008
• Bits and Pieces

Legislature Passes ‘09 Budget

On Saturday, May 31, 2008, the Illinois General Assembly adjourned after passing a new budget for 2009. The budget was passed on a partisan basis, with no Republican votes in favor of the budget in either the House or Senate.

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The deadlines for passing legislation have been extended to May 31, 2008, which means the legislature intends to be in session until at least Saturday. Rumors abound about whether there will be an agreement on the budget or not. Generally speaking, there is a strong desire on the part of the legislators to not repeat last year, when they were in session the entire summer.

We are doing well. We have offered an amendment on HB 4623 (see previous updates), the adoption bill, which will make it so a confidential intermediary would have to contact the adoptive mother and give her 2 weeks to sign up for the DO NO CONTACT list. This would guarantee confidentiality to those who wish to maintain it.

The sponsor of the Civil Unions Bill (HB 1826) is still working the floor to get the votes to pass his legislation. The California Court ruling has not helped his cause at all, although he continues to tell the press he has nearly 60 votes. If you recall, the Domestic Partners Bill only received 43 votes in the house. If you have not contacted your legislators, please call your state representative and ask how they intend to vote on this important bill. Please notify me by email at revbobvb@sbcglobal.net if you receive an answer, so we know which legislators we need to continue to work with.

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Headlines

• Domestic Partners Bill Loses!
  
• Marriage Lawsuits and the ERA
• God’s Tug on Your Heart
• Schedule for  2008
• Bits and Pieces

Domestic Partners Bill Loses!

HB 4731, a bill to give same-sex domestic partners who are members of the Chicago Teachers Union failed in the House by a vote of 43-67-1. This legislation, sponsored by Rep. Greg Harris (D), was being pushed by the Chicago Teachers Union. HB 4731 equates same-sex domestic partners with spouses.

This same legislation has been introduced in the past couple of years, but has never had a vote on the floor of the House before. Although the sponsor knew he did not have the votes to pass the bill, the Teachers Union wanted a vote taken, and according to other lobbyists, telling the sponsor not to worry, because the votes would be there.

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The General Assembly returns tomorrow, Tuesday, April 29, after taking last week off.

HB 4623, which has been amended to the Adoption Act will change privacy rules for birth parents, requiring that the original birth certificate be available to adult adoptees. A number of the folks who work with crisis pregnancy centers have expressed concern. Girls who are not planning to keep their babies are already on the fragile edge, trying to decide whether to give the baby up for adoption, or to have an abortion. This could possibly scare these pregnant teens into having an abortion instead of an adoption.

It is likely that HB 4623 will come up for a vote soon. The deadline for bills to be out of the House was Friday, April 18. The deadline for this bill has now been extended to Friday, May 9.

The roll call on this bill is very close. With a few more emails and calls to legislators, I believe we have the opportunity to stop this legislation. Please contact your legislators and ask them to vote NO on HB 4623.

Thank you for making your wishes known to your legislators. For the contact information for your state representative, go to the following website:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/...

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Today HB 4731, the Domestic Partners Death Benefits Bill for the Chicago Teachers Union came up for a vote in the House of Representatives. As mentioned in our update this morning, it equated same-sex domestic partners with spouses and the date of filing for the benefits with the date of a marriage.

The Chicago Teachers Union told the sponsor, Rep. Greg Harris, that they wanted a vote on the bill this week. It was called for a vote on the floor of the House this afternoon at 4:30 PM, and lost 43-67-1 with 7 members not voting. This bill is much easier to vote for than the Civil Unions Bill (HB 1826), so it gives us a pretty good idea of where we are on that bill as well.

Thank you for making your wishes known to your legislators. To look at the roll call and how your state representative voted, go to the following website:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/...

If you do not appreciate how your legislator voted, please contact him/her, and ask him/her how they plan to vote on HB 1826, the Civil Unions Bill. If your legislator voted correctly, please feel free to contact him/her to show your appreciation. PLEASE BE GRACIOUS TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVES, EVEN IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THEM. SHOW THEM RESPECT AND RESPECTFULLY ASK FOR THEIR VOTE ON HB1826.

Thank you for your prayers and your willingness to contact your legislators.

In His Service,

Rev. Bob