CCI issues statement on Gov. Bruce Rauner's call to reinstate the death penalty
Gov. Bruce Rauner today called for the reinstatement of the death penalty for individuals convicted of mass shootings or the fatal shooting of a police officer.
His call came in his written amendatory veto of House Bill 1468, which requires a 72-hour waiting period before the purchase of an assault weapon. The governor introduces a new burden of proof — "beyond all doubt" — as opposed to the current "beyond a reasonable doubt" — for those individuals charged with the fatal shooting of a law enforcement officer or a group of people. His full amendatory veto message may be found here.
The death penalty in Illinois was abolished in 2011, following a moratorium placed on the final sentence in 2000 by then Gov. George Ryan, a Republican. The Catholic Conference actively supported the ban of the death penalty, issuing a statement when Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn signed Senate Bill 3539 into law.
The Catholic Conference today issued the following statement in response to the governor's actions, or click here for a PDF version:
We are distressed and alarmed by Gov. Bruce Rauner’s call for the reinstatement of the death penalty in any way, shape or form. His call to put to death individuals convicted of mass shootings or the fatal shooting of a law enforcement officer under proof of “beyond all doubt” instead of “beyond a reasonable doubt” is simply parsing words. You cannot teach killing is wrong by killing. We are all God’s children, and our first – and primary – right to life must always be protected and unconditional.
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CCI issues statement on taxpayer-funded abortions becoming law
Gov. Bruce Rauner today announced that he would sign House Bill 40, which authorizes the use of taxpayer monies to pay for elective abortions for Medicaid participants and state employees. He had earlier pledged to veto the bill.
The Catholic Conference of Illinois today released the following statement. Click here for a PDF.
We are deeply disturbed that Governor Rauner has broken his word and firm public promise to veto HB 40.
Governor Rauner, together with the legislators who voted for this misguided legislation, will now force Illinois taxpayers to pay for the taking of human life, in this case that of a defenseless child in the womb.
We remain dedicated to advocating for the dignity and sanctity of human life from conception to natural death and will work to convince the public and our elected officials about the grave moral error this legislation represents.
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CCI issues statement on final passage of SB 1947, education funding legislation
The Illinois Senate today passed Senate Bill 1947, following up on the House's approval yesterday of the landmark legislation that overhauls the state's education funding formula and introduces a five-year Scholarship Tax Credit program. The governor is expected to sign the legislation. Here is the House roll call, and the Senate roll call.
A fact sheet on the basics of the Scholarship Tax Credit can be found here. A detailed analysis of the new program can be found here.
The Catholic Conference today issued the following statement on final passage of SB 1947. Click here for a PDF of the statement.
Access to a quality education is one of the greatest social justice issues of our time, and is much too important to be determined solely by where a student lives. As Pope Francis notes in The Joy of Love, “… the overall education of children is a ‘most serious duty’ and at the same time a ‘primary right’ of parents.” We believe the new legislation will help give students and their parents the opportunity to choose their education and their future. We are grateful to the governor and the legislative leaders on both sides of the aisle for choosing sensible compromise in making this choice a reality in Illinois. The governor and other elected officials deserve our praise for turning an out-of-date school funding blueprint into a distribution formula that is both fair and equitable across the state.
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En Espanol
El Senado de Illinois aprobó hoy el Proyecto de ley del senado 1947, siguiendo la aprobación ayer de la Cámara de la histórica legislación que revisa la formula de financiamiento de la educación en el estado e introduce un programa de Crédito Tributario para Becas de cinco años. Se espera que el gobernador firme la legislación. Aquí se puede encontrar la votación de la Cámara, y la votación del Senado.
Una hoja de datos sobre los elementos básicos del Crédito Tributario para Becas puede ser encontrada aquí.
La Conferencia Católica emitió hoy la siguiente declaración sobre la aprobación final de SB 1947. Haga clic aquí para un PDF de la declaración.
El acceso a una educación de calidad es uno de los problemas de justicia social más grande de nuestro tiempo, y es muy importante para ser determinado solamente por donde vive un estudiante. Como lo señala el Papa Francisco en La alegría del amor, “… la educación general de los niños es ‘obligación gravísima’ a la vez que ‘derecho primario’ de los padres”. Creemos que la nueva legislación ayudará a dar a los niños y a sus padres la oportunidad de escoger su educación y su futuro. Estamos agradecidos con el gobernador y los líderes legislativos de ambos lados por seleccionar un compromiso sensato para hacer esta opción una realidad en Illinois. El gobernador y otros oficiales electos merecen nuestro elogio por convertir un plan de financiamiento de escuelas obsoleto en una formula de distribución que es tanto justa como equitativa a lo largo del estado.
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Polskie
Senat Stanu Illinois, po uzyskaniu wczoraj zgody Izby Reprezentantów, przyjął dzisiaj Ustawę 1947 dotyczącą przełomowego prawodawstwa, które naprawia stanową formułę finansowania edukacji. Zaprezentował też pięcioletni program ulg podatkowych na stypendia. Spodziewane jest, że ustawa ta zostanie podpisana przez gubernatora. Poniżej zamieszczamy apel Izby Reprezentantów i apel Senatu.
Tutaj można znaleźć arkusz informacyjny na temat podstaw Ulg Podatkowych na Stypendia.
Katolicka Konferencja Biskupów Stanu Illinois opublikowała dzisiaj zamieszczone poniżej oświadczenie na temat ostatecznej wersji ustawy SB 1947. Kliknij tutaj, aby uzyskać oświadczenie w formacie PDF.
Dostęp do wysokiej jakości edukacji jest jedną z najważniejszych kwestii sprawiedliwości społecznej naszych czasów. Jest ona zbyt ważna, aby była zdeterminowana wyłącznie przez miejsce zamieszkania studenta. Jak powiedział papież Franciszek w Radości miłości „[…] wychowanie dzieci jest ‘najpoważniejszym obowiązkiem’, a zarazem ‘najpierwszym prawem’ rodziców”. Wierzymy, że ta nowa ustawa pomoże w stworzeniu nowych możliwości studentom i ich rodzicom w wyborze swojej edukacji i swojej przyszłości.
Jesteśmy wdzięczni gubernatorowi i prawodawcom obu stron za wybranie rozsądnego kompromisu i sprawienie, że to co wybrali staje się rzeczywistością w stanie Illinois. Gubernator i inni wybrani urzędnicy zasługują na naszą pochwałę za zmianę przestarzałego programu finansowania szkół w formułę podziału, która jest zarówno sprawiedliwa, jak i równa na terytorium całego stanu.
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CCI issues statement on Illinois Senate passage of House Bill 40, taxpayer funding of abortion
The Illinois Senate today approved House Bill 40 on a vote of 33-22. You can view the vote count here. This legislation allows public money to be used to pay for elective abortions for Medicaid participants and state employees. CCI issued the following statement after final passage of HB 40. Click here for a PDF version.
Statement on Illinois Senate passage of HB 40, taxpayer funding of abortion
We are dismayed the Illinois Senate followed the House in passing House Bill 40, which allows taxpayer monies to pay for elective abortions in the Medicaid program and state employees’ health insurance plans. Public opinion polls regularly show little support for this public policy move. We thank Governor Bruce Rauner for his promise to veto House Bill 40, and we will continue to make our voices heard in the coming days about this troubling legislation.
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Catholic Conference laments Illinois House passage of taxpayer-funded abortion bill
The head of the public policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops today lamented Illinois House passage of legislation authorizing the use of taxpayer money to pay for elective abortions for Medicaid recipients and state employees.
Robert Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois, criticized lawmakers for turning a moral argument into campaign fodder.
“Elected representatives today chose raw politics over the innocent lives of the unborn,” Gilligan said.
Today’s passage of House Bill 40 denoted the culmination of a legislative spring break marked by Gov. Bruce Rauner’s promise to veto the legislation, which was quickly followed by accusations of broken campaign promises. Cardinal Blase Cupich of the Archdiocese of Chicago last week issued a public statement in which he thanked the governor for his “principled stand” to veto HB 40.
“Abortion is a controversial issue in this country, but using public money to provide abortions should not be,” Cardinal Cupich stated.
Public opinion polls indicate strong opposition to public funding of abortion. A January 2017 poll conducted by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion for the Knights of Columbus shows that 61 percent of Americans oppose taxpayer funding of abortion, including 40 percent of those who say they are pro-choice.
Only 15 states currently pay for elective abortions for Medicaid participants, and 11 of those states do so through a court order, not legislative action.
Gilligan stressed the House’s vote represented a dangerous misplacement of priorities, especially when the state has not had a budget for 22 months and has nearly $13 billion in overdue bills.
“The state can’t pay for essential services, and lawmakers are funding elective abortions – where is the logic in that?” he said.
Illinois’ Catholic bishops have lobbied hard against House Bill 40, issuing letters to parishioners urging them to contact their state representatives to vote against the measure. Cardinal Cupich and the other bishops noted that a better use of taxpayer money in such dire fiscal times would be to fund prenatal services for the poor and child care for working mothers, as well as expand health-care options for those in need.
HB 40 passed the House on a 62-55 vote, and now moves to the Senate for consideration. The vote roll call can be seen here.
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The Catholic Conference of Illinois was created in 1969 to serve as the public policy voice of the Illinois bishops and the six diocese of the state: Belleville, Chicago, Joliet, Peoria, Rockford and Springfield-in-Illinois.
Click here for a PDF version of the above press release.