SPOTLIGHT: A Christlike Response to Sexual Anarchy

Written by David E. Smith

Welcome to a special edition of Illinois Family Spotlight featuring IFI’s Cultural Analyst and self-described “accidental activist,” Laurie Higgins. In an address given at Grace Fellowship Church in the western suburbs, Laurie talks about what she feels is the most significant revolution in history – the Trans Revolution. She delineates the distinctions of biological sex, gender, gender identity, and cis-gender.

Laurie also discusses gender dysphoria, social contagion, desistance, detransitioning, and the controversial use of puberty blockers.… Continue Reading

SPOTLIGHT: Is Marriage a Civil Right?

Written by David E. Smith

In this special edition of Illinois Family Spotlight, we are revisiting a timeless presentation regarding the definition of marriage. Today we’re broadcasting, for the first time, a keynote address that was given by Laurie Higgins, IFI’s Cultural Affairs writer, at Illinois Family Institute’s 2011 Marriage Symposium. While Mrs. Higgins’ speech was presented nearly seven years ago, her information and insights are as pertinent now as they were before the U.S.… Continue Reading

Gubernatorial Election: What to Do, What to Do…

Written by Laurie Higgins

Maybe Illinois conservatives, beaten down by Illinois politics and bad governance, badgered by fellow Republicans, and panicking because they focus too much on the short-term nightmarish picture they see before their eyes, will at the last moment fold and vote for Bruce Rauner. That would be a huge mistake.

The long-term health of the party, the state, and the nation depends not solely or even centrally on tax rates for businesses but on issues related to respect for human life, marriage, and sexuality.… Continue Reading

Illinois Republicans Miss the Target in Target-Rich Environment–Again

Written by John Biver and David E. Smith

Illinois Republicans never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Whether it is reaching enough Illinoisans with the facts about the dire fiscal state of Illlinois or about the terrible consequences of the misnamed “Equal Rights Amendment,” GOP leaders can’t seem to make use of the many teachable moments that occur weekly in Illinois politics.

One such teachable moment presented itself in a shocking investigative report by the Chicago Tribune on pervasive child sexual abuse within the Chicago Public School system that exposed that “Over a decade, police investigated more than 520 cases of juvenile sexual assault and abuse in Chicago’s public schools.”

Despite the shocking nature of the abuses outlined in the report, there has been virtually no response from Illinois Republican “leaders.” Where is the proactive, sustained and appropriate expression of outrage coming from GOP Chairman Tim Schneider, Governor Bruce Rauner, State Senator Bill Brady and State Representative Jim Durkin?… Continue Reading

The Left’s Slippery Slope

Written by Elad Hakim

Republicans and Democrats agree on little these days.  This is especially true when it comes to certain social issues.  For example, many Republicans believe in the traditional definition of marriage (man and woman).  Democrats, on the other hand, take a much broader approach.  Republicans tend to believe that a person is born as a man or a woman and that science dictates one’s sex.  Democrats have a different view.  One thing is certain: the country is currently on a left-leaning, steep, and slippery slope to the abyss.… Continue Reading

SPOTLIGHT: Springfield Rundown

Written by John Biver

Laurie Higgins joins Monte Larrick and Dave Smith to discuss the Illinois Senate’s approval of the ERA, and they also discuss the LGBTQIA history curriculum legislation currently in consideration in the Illinois General Assembly.

Can the ERA be stopped in Illinois now that it has passed the state senate? “Yes,” Laurie Higgins said, because the “ERA actually says nothing about women.” The language of the proposed amendment does signal, however, that it will eradicate abortion restrictions and it will end sex differentiation in private spaces.… Continue Reading

LGBTQ Roots in Legal Weed Campaign Run Deep

Written by Pat Hickey

During the Illinois Primary, I wrote about the people behind the Marijuana Legalization Campaign:

Democrats Dan Biss and JB Pritzker want Illinois more than one toke over the line, and Chris Kennedy and Bruce Rauner want others to tell us if it is safe and fun.

Like the lottery and casino gambling, recreational pot will also free Illinois from want, debt and care.  Dope will make our kids smarter and turn selfish people into Jimmy Kimmel.

Transgressing the Diversity Dictate

Written by Robert Knight

“All I know is what I read in the papers,” Will Rogers used to say when opening his vaudeville act. In that spirit, here are two items in the news that shed light on our current culture.

In a full-page newspaper ad that ran during the Winter Olympics, Edward W. Stack, chairman of DICK’s Sporting Goods, basically paraphrased Rodney King’s admonition to the Los Angeles rioters in 1992:  “Can we all get along?”

Headlined “United in Sport,” the ad deplores that “our world, our country, even our communities are as divided as they have ever been.”  Yes, but we did get through the Civil War, World Wars I and II and the Cold War.… Continue Reading

SPOTLIGHT: LGBTQQAP Plans for Illinois Schools

Laurie Higgins and John Biver join this week’s podcast with David Smith. They discuss the ongoing push in Springfield to pass a bill which would celebrate the LGBT movement in school curricula K-12, the Delaware proposal where students “may self-identify their race or gender identity at school, and, there will be no requirement that parents be notified if the child communicates to the school that their parent would be not supportive.” (Read more HERE.)

They also discuss the champion female wrestler in Texas who is transitioning to a male taking cross sex hormones and steroids, and the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment). … Continue Reading

Southern Poverty Law Center Is a Hate Group

Written by Josh Goldstein

Like many leftist organizations, the Southern Poverty Law Center, or SPLC, started out with good intentions. It was founded in 1971 by Morris Dees and Joseph Levin and is headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama.  The Southern Poverty Law Center rightly condemned, as did conservatives such as the great William F. Buckley and Ronald Reagan, the American Nazi Party and the Democrat-affiliated Ku Klux Klan.

A favorite SPLC tactic was suing Klan affiliated organizations for their crimes and then distributing the money to the victims.  … Continue Reading