Illinois Family Institute (IFI) was made aware of a shocking press release issued by BLM activist Tim McGowan who is running for the school board in District 211 (Schaumburg, Palatine, Hoffman Estates, Fremd, and Conant High Schools)—the same school district that was embroiled in a controversy in 2019 when the former superintendent and school board sexually integrated all district locker rooms and bathrooms.

In his press release, Mr. McGowan opposes a slate of three candidates, accusing them of being funded by IFI and accusing us of being a “racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic hate group” whose “dark right-wing money” is “bankrolling candidates’ robocalls” for his opponents. He also accuses IFI of opposing anti-bullying legislation. Wowzer. So many lies and half-truths—so little time.

Let’s start with the facts about our involvement. Illinois Family Action (IFI’s 501c4 sister organization) paid for 1 robocall to conservative voters in the district on behalf of the three mothers who are running for the school board, in part because they oppose co-ed bathrooms and locker rooms. And we sent one email to IFA subscribers in the district. Since McGowan knows that we funded these robocalls, the money isn’t really very dark now, is it?

If Mr. McGowan is genuinely concerned about “dark money,” he must have had a conniption in 2017 when $26,000 dollars from homosexuals and the cross-sex impersonating director of the Matrix movies—none of whom lived in District 211—poured in to defeat three eminently qualified conservative candidates.

Enquiring minds would like to know, who is bankrolling Mr. McGowan’s campaign?

Now on to the meatier claims of the patently deceitful demagogue Tim McGowan.

Mr. McGowan claims IFI is racist.

That’s an especially odd claim in that both IFI and IFA have African Americans serving on our boards. Former WLS on-air host Stephanie Trussell and Pastor James Pittman sit on the board of IFA. And Pastor Ceasar LeFlore sits on the board of IFI. In addition, Eric Wallace who recently ran for the Illinois State Senate, has written articles for IFI. Dr. Ben Carson and Lt. Col. Allen West have been IFI banquet speakers. And two speakers at IFI’s upcoming Worldview Conference on Critical Race Theory are Angela Sailor and Stacy Washington—both Black women.

Pastor LeFlore begs to differ with McGowan’s malign press release:

It’s unfortunate that Mr. McGowan, by including a statement in his press release accusing Illinois Family Institute of racism, is behaving consistently with other members of the woke, cancel culture who interpret any disagreement with their leftist policies as being racist.

Disagreement with misguided, anti-biblical positions is not necessarily motivated by racism, and anyone who would accuse the Illinois Family Institute of being racist or antisemitic is not a person operating in honesty or reality.

As an African American and a board member of IFI, I personally resent this unfounded allegation, and I urge Mr. McGowan to run on the strength of his own positions and to avoid the baseless charges of racism that seem to be the only card some politicians have to play.

The work that IFI has done to save black babies from abortion, protect the integrity of our schools, and to restore black families speaks for itself. What has Mr. McGowan done?

IFA Board member Stephanie Trussell warns of the damage that will be done by the election of Mr. McGowan:

When we remove God as a moral guide, we get politicians like Tim McGowan selling polarization rather than thoughtful policy. As Mr. McGowan supported BLM, he identifies himself as part of the hypocrisy that has taken hold of our communities. How can he openly support an organization that wants to destroy traditional black families?

As a conservative black woman, I am tired of office-seekers playing the homophobic, racist, etc. cards to attack rivals and the church. IFI is an organization that embraces a biblical basis for making decisions. Pandering hypocrites like Mr. McGowan attack without facts in an attempt to win power that in this case will negatively impact schools in District 211.

Perhaps McGowan could publicly share his evidence for the claim that IFI is racist.

Mr. McGowan claims IFI is anti-semitic.

As a person employed by an organization that has never expressed an antisemitic word and which has invited Michael Medved to speak at two IFI events, I was flummoxed by this charge.

Joseph A. Morris, partner in the law firm of Morris & De La Rosa, and president of The Lincoln Legal Foundation and the chairman of The Heartland Institute Board of Directors responded to Mr. McGowan’s calumnious accusations:

I don’t know Tim McGowan. I do, however, know the Illinois Family Institute. As a Jewish activist and a leader in my synagogue and in several Jewish organizations, I have made common cause with the Illinois Family Institute in defense of religious liberty and the humane values of Western civilization. I know for certain, at first hand, that the Illinois Family Institute is neither antisemitic nor racist.

If Mr. McGowan is calling the Illinois Family Institute “anti-semitic” and “racist”, then one of three things must be true: Either Mr. McGowan is lying, or he is willfully ignorant, or he is recklessly indifferent to the truth.

No one who is a liar, or willfully ignorant, or recklessly indifferent to the truth belongs on an elected school board anywhere in America. If that bill fits Mr. McGowan, then my advice is to vote against him.

Mr. McGowan claims IFI is “homophobic.”

By now, every theologically orthodox Christian—Catholic and Protestant—knows what leftists mean when they hurl the epithet “homophobe.” Leftists don’t believe Christians have an irrational fear—that is a “phobia”—of homosexuals. Rather, leftists use this epithet to gin up hatred against Christ-followers who believe what Scripture clearly teaches about homosexual acts and the ontology of marriage. Name-calling is their tactic of choice to marginalize and silence conservative Christians.

It bears repeating: Moral disapproval of volitional acts does not ipso facto constitute hatred of persons who engage in those acts.

Mr. McGowan has made his anti-Christian bigotry explicit. By calling IFI both a hate group and “homophobic” because of our theological beliefs, he has made clear that theologically orthodox Christians are not welcome in District 211 schools.

Mr. McGowan claims IFI lobbied against anti-bullying legislation.

In this claim, Mr. McGowan expresses a deceitful half-truth in order to make it appear that IFI supports bullying. IFI has no opposition to anti-bullying legislation per se. What we opposed a decade ago was a terrible bill written by leftists mucking about in the Illinois swamp. Anyone who wants to know exactly why we opposed this bad piece of legislation can read our reasons HERE.

Conclusion

Opposing Critical Race Theory (CRT) or BLM is not equivalent to racism. People can oppose Critical Race Theory and the socio-political agenda of the racist, sexist, heterophobic, Marxist BLM, and at the same time oppose racism. In fact, there are many people of color and colorless people who believe CRT and BLM are divisive and harm all communities, especially communities of color. Mr. McGowan’s divisive and deceitful rhetoric is emblematic of the ugly ideas integral to both CRT and BLM.

It appears Mr. McGowan—like so many leftists—doesn’t want any ideological diversity on the school board. He wants no one to represent conservative families who believe biological sex is real and has profound meaning and relevance to spaces in which children undress and engage in intimate bodily functions.

And it appears that Mr. McGowan will lie to achieve his intolerant, myopic, and, yes, bigoted ends. Rather than engage with ideas through debate and civil discourse, Mr. McGowan resorted to  deceit. What kind of role model is he? Can such a person serve the needs of District 211 children?

We have many lousy school board members across Illinois and many lousy school board candidates. McGowan is among the worst. No one who brazenly lies and no one who hates Christians like McGowan evidently does should serve on any school board. He is clearly unfit to serve the entire diverse population in District 211, which includes many theologically orthodox Christians.

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