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.

We have finally passed the June 30 mark, and are now in 2009 Fiscal Year in Illinois. Although the legislature has passed a budget, there are dissenting opinions on the budget defficit, that vary from $1.5 billion to $2-5 billion. Either way, something will have to be done soon, since the next state paycheck is due by July 15, 2009. There is money left over from the '08 budget that is still in the pipeline, that can also be used to pay bills during this time. There are still many projects that have been promised money that have seen none.

There is no inidication that the governor will call for a special session at this time. No one really knows yet what will happen, since Senate President Jones, the governor's ally over the years, does not want a special session to take place. The payraise commission has recommended a double digit increase in pay for the legislature unless both Houses pass a resolution rejecting it. The House has already passed the resolution, but the Senate has done nothing. The legislature must vote to reject the payraise within 30 session day. For the Senate, the clock is at 26 days,with four days left to vote. If a special session is called, within four days, the Senate must vote to reject the payraise, or it will take effect. If the Senate does not come back until the veto session, the 30 session days will expire at that time. That means the legislature can receive a payraise after the voting takes place for the general election in November, and we, the people, will have two years to forget that the Senate President did not allow a vote.

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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 following are items of concern to us as we lobby this week. This Thursday is the deadline for Senate Bills to pass out of the Senate. Friday is the deadline for House Bills to pass out of the House. These deadlines are arbitrary, in some respects, since legislation can be kept alive by extending the deadlines for passage (such as the Civil Unions bill, HB 1826).

HB 4623, sponsored by Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, amends the adoption act, aloowing adoptees over the age of 21 to access their original birth certificates. There are arguments on both sides of the issue. Of concern to us, is that pregnant young girls, who may be struggling with the decision of whether to give up their baby for adoption, may decide instead to abort their babies because of a concern for their privacy being compromised later in life. There are concerns that promises of confidentiality made in the past will be broken, identifying birth parents who do not want to be identified. Currently, half of the family members contacted by confidential intermediaries refuse to meet with adoptees. Although birth parents will be allowed to register that they do not want to be contacted, those who have moved out of state will not  be aware of the public service campaign going on in Illinois to notify they of their ability to opt out. This bill is on second reading on the House floor, and could come up for a vote this week.

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