In this important episode, David Smith sits down with David Curtin to discuss House Bill 4966– legislation aimed to expand DCFS services and limit counseling options for gender confused youths.

David Curtin is a veteran pro-life advocate, political consultant, and a lobbyist for the Illinois Family Institute among other organizations.

In the second half of this episode, Illinois Senator Chris Balkema (R-Pontiac) discusses the behind the scenes realities of the political battles in Springfield from the effort to defund abortion to the fight against physician-assisted suicide.… Continue Reading

Illinois families are constantly being squeezed by state lawmakers, and this is especially true at the gas pump.

State Representatives Regan Deering (R-Decatur), C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Jacksonville), and Ryan Spain (R-Peoria) are calling for immediate relief through House Bill 5738, which would suspend the state’s sales tax on gasoline for six months. At current prices, that would mean roughly 20 cents per gallon back in the pockets of Illinois families.

As gasoline prices climb above $4.00 per gallon in many parts of the state, Illinois drivers are paying not only for global energy pressures, but for one of the highest gas tax burdens in the nation.… Continue Reading

We live in a divided nation. The unity we built 250 years ago is now fractured, and our disagreements have become so intense and sometimes so violent that they threaten the very fabric of our civil society.

One of the most volatile flashpoints today is the disagreement over how we enforce our national immigration laws.

Today, across the nation, hundreds of local “sanctuary” jurisdictions openly defy federal authority. We have seen this before.… Continue Reading

On March 19, 2026, Loyola University Chicago freshman, Sheridan Gorman, was fatally shot by gunman, Jose Medina.

While walking with her friends near Tobey Prinz Beach in Chicago, all hoping to see the Northern Lights, a masked gunman, dressed in all black, started opening fire in a seemingly random attack, according to police.

What the media doesn’t want you to know is that this horrific crime was completely preventable.

Jose Medina, a Venezuelan national, was in the United States illegally.… Continue Reading

We strongly encourage you to vote in the March 17th primary election. Before heading to the polls, take time to learn where candidates stand on the sanctity of human life, transgender ideology, parental rights, and the expansion of big government. Click HERE for the IFI Voter Guide. Early began on February 5th.

The board of Illinois Family Action is pleased to endorse the following candidates in the 2026 primary election.… Continue Reading

In this special episode of Illinois Family Spotlight, IFI’s Jenna Smith and Alyssa Sonnenburg sit down with special guest, Dr. Greg Gifford.

Dr. Gifford is a biblical counselor, Chair of Biblical Studies at the Master’s University, Fellow of Fortis Institute, and host of Transformed, a podcast where everyday issues meet the truth of the Bible.

Recently, Senate Bill 4832 was introduced in the Illinois General Assembly, a bill which would define “transgenderism” as a mental illness under the Illinois Health Code.… Continue Reading

In this episode of Illinois Family Spotlight, IFI’s David Smith sits down with two Illinois General Assembly members on new pieces of legislation they have introduced to protect children from the destructive nature of transgender ideology.

State Representative Bill Hauter, M.D., the only medical doctor serving in the Illinois General Assembly — has introduced HB 4482 to prohibit gender-transition medical procedures on children. Read more here.

SB 3842, introduced by State Senator Andrew Chesney, would expand the definition of “mental illness” to include transgenderism, giving Illinois residents who struggle with gender dysmorphia the mental help and assistance many need.… Continue Reading

When State Senator Neil Anderson, a Republican from Andalusia representing Illinois’ 47th Senate District, introduced Senate Bill 3572 on February 5, 2026, knowing very well that he was introducing legislation that would cause a firestorm of controversy and that very likely he would have to pay a political price.

A synopsis of SB 3572:

Referred to by the General Assembly doorkeeper as ‘His Excellency,’ Governor JB Pritzker and his entourage entered the House Chamber where he gave his annual Illinois budget address on Wednesday, February 18^th.

For the next fiscal year, Gov. Pritzker is proposing an additional $1 billion in spending — along with new taxes to pay for it. Don’t be surprised if the General Assembly adds even more to the budget — and the taxpayers’ tab.… Continue Reading

Governor JB Pritzker delivered his eighth consecutive budget address on February 18th. If you closed your eyes and listened, you might have thought you were hearing a man of the people, a defender of the powerless standing up to a tyrannical federal government. He invoked Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and Reverend Jesse Jackson. He quoted the great reform governor, John Peter Altgeld.

He spoke of empathy, love, and the courage to resist authoritarianism.… Continue Reading

This episode of Illinois Family Spotlight features a conversation between IFI’s David Smith, Pastor Michael Johnson and Pastor Ceasar LeFlore.

Recently, Illinois Senator Neil Anderson introduced Senate Bill 3572, a bill with the express goal of abolishing abortion in the state of Illinois.

“Women are currently being told by the law that it is okay to kill their babies. That is unjust. We want to inform peoples’ conscience with a just law.

Republican voters in Illinois will notice something unusual on their Primary Election ballot this year — there is no listed Republican nominee for Illinois State Treasurer. While the reasons behind that absence are a story for another time, there is encouraging news: a strong conservative Christian candidate has stepped forward to run as a write-in.

Incumbent Democratic Treasurer Michael Frerichs is unopposed in the Democratic primary and could face no major-party challenger in the general election unless write-in candidate Max Solomon secures the 5,000 votes required to appear on the November ballot.… Continue Reading

In this week’s episode of Illinois Family Spotlight, IFI’s Dave Smith sits down with Pastor Brandon Myers and Pastor Calvin Lindstrom to discuss SB 3572, a bill with the express goal of abolishing abortion in Illinois.

Because of its serious language, this bill has many pro-lifers standing against it. It is vital that we, as believers, are not controlled by our emotions but are instead controlled by the Word of God.… Continue Reading

Illinois State Senator Neil Anderson recently announced that he will be introducing legislation in Springfield to abolish abortion in the state of Illinois.

In this episode, IFI’s David Smith, Jenna Smith, and Alyssa Sonnenburg discuss this legislation and unpack the reality of the abortion practice in Illinois.

Did you know that in the state of Illinois,

• abortion businesses do not need to undergo inspections,
• when a woman dies during an abortion, the coroner is not required to be notified,
• a medical professional cannot be disciplined for performing an abortion on a non-pregnant woman, and
• medical professionals with a revoked medical license from another state will be allowed to perform abortions in Illinois.

The Illinois gubernatorial primary and general elections are coming up in March and November of this year, respectively.

For the past eight years, Illinoisans have had first-hand experience of the radical nature of the Democratic Party in Illinois.

• Shocking abortion statistics: 38,472 abortions in Illinois in 2014; 89,770 in 2024.
• The highest combined state and local tax burden in the nation.
• Heightened violence.
• Radical school curriculum: sex ed in kindergarten, proficiency testing of LGBTQ history in 8^th grade in order to graduate, tampons in boys school bathrooms, and much more.

The University of Chicago Institute of Politics, WBEZ, the Chicago Sun-Times, and International House recently covered the three frontrunner Democratic candidates running for the open U.S. Senate seat in Illinois for the upcoming Primary on March 17^th.

The debate featured candidates Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-IL, District 2), Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL, District 8), and Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton.

I watched the debate so that you wouldn’t have to and these are the big takeaways.… Continue Reading

Illinoisans are about to feel another hit to their wallets—this time in the name of “clean” energy.

Gov. JB Pritzker and his Democratic supermajorities have pursued the unrealistic goal of 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2045 with little regard for cost or reliability. What lawmakers failed to disclose when they passed Illinois’ original clean-energy law is now painfully hitting home with no relief in sight. These foolish policies will cost taxpayers billions.… Continue Reading

This episode of Illinois Family Spotlight features two special guests.

In the first segment, we hear from JennyBeth Martin from the Only Citizens Vote Coalition on why only Americans should participate in American elections.

In the second segment, we hear from Larry Elder on the importance of the film Uncle Tom II.

“87% of Americans agree [in proof of citizenship for license to vote].”

This is an important episode you do not want to miss.… Continue Reading

Illinois’ Soft-on-Crime Policies Are Hurting Innocent People

More and more people are being violently victimized because of the so-called “SAFE-T Act,” rushed through the General Assembly on January 13, 2021, and signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker on February 22, 2021. This massive overhaul of our criminal-justice system passed entirely along party lines — every Democrat voted for it; not a single Republican supported it.

The horrific attack on 26-year-old Bethany Magee is not an isolated tragedy.… Continue Reading

November 7, 2025 featured Illinois Family Institute’s annual Faith, Family & Freedom banquet.

In his address to over 700 attendees, Executive Director, David Smith, outlined IFI’s mission to standing firm against the spiritual battles that Illinois is facing.

“Illinois is now poised to become the 12th jurisdiction and the first midwest state to normalize suicide…

We must pray… that Governor Pritzker would veto this legislation.”

This is an episode that you do not want to miss.… Continue Reading

On November 17th at around 9 pm on Chicago’s L Train, Bethany Magee, a 26 year old woman, was doused in gasoline and set on fire by Lawrence Reed.

The infuriating part of this horrific crime is not only the crime itself, but the looming fact that this atrocity was completely preventable.

Why? Because Lawrence Reed is another “career criminal” with 72 prior arrests. A very long rap sheet.

To understand the nature of just how preventable this incident was, Reed’s criminal context is important.… Continue Reading

Chicago is a city with a complicated legacy — a place that has inspired political machines, entrepreneurial innovation, faith-filled reform, and yes, devastating corruption. While many think of shady deals made in smoke-filled back rooms, the deeper and more troubling truth is that Chicago has a long history of collaboration between political figures and violent street gangs.

This is not conspiracy theory. It’s documented history.

Gangs as Political Machinery

Beginning in the 1960s, Chicago politicians recognized something that should have been obvious: gangs had numbers.… Continue Reading

When victims’ advocates push for mandatory minimum sentences, the leniency lobby instantly howls about “judicial discretion.” In theory, that’s right: In a just society, judges should have the freedom to weigh every case, tailoring sentences to fit the crimes.

But America doesn’t live in that society. We live in an era when violent crime floods major cities and leftist judges treat predators like misunderstood poets. In this environment, mandatory minimums aren’t cruel — they’re the only remaining safeguard for victims and the public.… Continue Reading

Excuses, Deflection, and Denial

Illinois billionaire Governor JB Pritzker appeared on Fox News’ Special Report with Bret Baier on Thursday, where he blasted the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement in Chicago while downplaying the city’s spiraling crime problem. The two-term Democratic governor also dodged questions about his presidential ambitions, took shots at Trump’s tariff policies, and doubled down on his paranoid claim that U.S. troops could be used to “steal” the next election.… Continue Reading

In this important episode of Spotlight, Illinois State Representative Jed Davis (R-Yorkville) shares about the upcoming Lame Duck session in the Illinois Legislature and troubling concerns that he sees with the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS).

Rep. Davis has a civil engineering degree, and served as board president for Yorkville’s Parkview Christian Academy.

“The state is running around investigating families and the people leading these investigations are interns who lack the experience.”

The growing political violence in the U.S. is a serious concern that threatens both the stability of our republic and the safety of its citizens. What we’re witnessing today is not merely partisan animosity, but open hostility — a clear sign of our culture’s moral and spiritual decline, which undermines the very foundation of a civilized society.

Just look at the violent mobs that recently targeted ICE offices and federal agents — torching vehicles, smashing windows, and assaulting officers who enforce our nation’s immigration laws.… Continue Reading

In a recent episode of The Matt Walsh Show, the host lays it out plainly: Hunter Biden proved just how easy it is to launder money in America. You don’t have to be clever — just land a no-show job, create a few shell companies with foreign investors, or sell “art” for millions to anonymous buyers.

That’s why questions are swirling around Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s “lucky streak” in Las Vegas.… Continue Reading

Governor JB Pritzker has repeatedly resorted to irresponsible and inflammatory language to demonize President Donald J. Trump, federal law enforcement officials, and Republicans in general. For months, he has engaged in extreme partisan bomb-throwing — in press conferences, on social media, and even at Democratic Party events outside Illinois.

Terms like “Nazi,” “jackbooted thugs,” “tyrant,” and “fascists” aren’t just political insults — they’re rhetorical grenades lobbed to manipulate the press and distort public perception.… Continue Reading

The Fall Veto Session in the Illinois State Legislature is coming up.

IFI Springfield Lobbyist, David Curtin, gives insight into what we can expect regarding the response to Charlie Kirk’s assassination and more.

“In Illinois, the Democrats have really not found the opportunity to turn down the rhetoric because they are in power no matter what they say. They can say anything and the media will back them up…

The media is afraid of the Governor, quite frankly.”

Republicans might finally take me seriously after years of warning: America suffers not from mass incarceration, but from mass under-incarceration. The system needs tougher sentences, not softer ones.

The brutal murder of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, allegedly at the hands of career criminal Decarlos Brown Jr. on a Charlotte commuter train, didn’t reveal anything new. It shocked the nation precisely because it put on camera what has become routine in our cities since the bipartisan “criminal justice reform” wave dismantled Reagan-era tough-on-crime policies.… Continue Reading

Republicans might finally take me seriously after years of warning: America suffers not from mass incarceration, but from mass under-incarceration. The system needs tougher sentences, not softer ones.

The brutal murder of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, allegedly at the hands of career criminal Decarlos Brown Jr. on a Charlotte commuter train, didn’t reveal anything new. It shocked the nation precisely because it put on camera what has become routine in our cities since the bipartisan “criminal justice reform” wave dismantled Reagan-era tough-on-crime policies.… Continue Reading

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is facing criticism after denying that he has ever called Republicans “Nazis.” Pressed by a reporter on Monday, Pritzker insisted,

“That is completely false. I have never called Republicans Nazis. That’s what they’d like to say. They’re lying. They’re lying.”

Republican gubernatorial candidate Ted Dabrowski quickly pushed back:

“Gov. Pritzker is not telling the truth. He is denying his own words, words that Illinoisans heard for themselves.”

In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s horrific public execution, Governor JB Pritzker issued condolences to the Kirk family. He then pivoted to the broader issue of political violence, warning that it is “ratcheting up in this country.” Pointing to recent political killings in Minnesota, he insisted, “It’s got to stop, and I think there are people who are fomenting it in this country.” Of course, Pritzker ultimately laid the blame at the feet of President Donald Trump, saying:

I think the president’s rhetoric often foments it.

Why should voting be relegated to citizens only? Darren Bailey answers this very question in today’s episode of Spotlight.

Darren Bailey is a former state representative, senator, and gubernatorial candidate. Bailey, a long-time farmer from Southern Illinois, recently participated in an Only Citizens Vote protest in Orland Park– a protest demanding that only U.S. citizens be allowed to vote in state and national elections.

“What if instead offering free college education to people who are here illegally that we actually look at how we can prop up our own children to be the greatest and brightest for the future that we have before us?”

Chicago endured another bloody Labor Day weekend: eight people killed and 58 shot, including two teenagers. President Donald J. Trump responded by declaring, “Enough is enough… we’re going in,” signaling his willingness to send federal help to restore order in the city.

Trump contrasted Chicago’s spiraling violence with Washington, D.C., which he claimed is now a “safe zone” after federal intervention. “You can walk right down the middle of the street… you’re safe,” he told reporters.… Continue Reading

The The Middle East Media Research Institute report states in part:

Imam Mazhar Mahmood of the Islamic Foundation of Peoria, IL, said in his August 8, 2025 Friday sermon that “alleged” Muslims suggest building “political situations” with the Zionists for the sake of stability, and he asked whether Muslims have “stooped so low.”… Continue Reading

An urgent matter requires our attention and action (BY 5:00 P.M., THIS FRIDAY)!

We oppose the appointment of Terra Costa Howard who has become an applicant to fill a vacancy which will occur on October 15^th due to the retirement of Circuit Judge Paul Fullerton (18^th Judicial Circuit, covering 7 counties: Kane, DuPage, Will, Kendall, Grundy, cities: Princeton, Ottawa, Morris, Shorewood, Kankakee, Watseka, and Wheaton).

Judge Fullerton currently serves at-large in the 18^th Circuit, District 3, at the DuPage County Courthouse.… Continue Reading

In his excellent history of the 20th century, Modern Times, Paul Johnson quotes one of Stalin’s economists: “Our task is not to study economics but to change it. We are bound by no laws.” I believe this describes the general tenor of the Democratic regime that rules Chicago and Illinois. They are people who believe that they can transcend the order and laws God has established, hence their support for abortion, the mutilation of children, and a host of other evils.… Continue Reading

Last month, it was a woman named Holly who was punched in the face and left unconscious in downtown Cincinnati. Last week, it was the brutal beating of a 19-year-old man named Edward Coristine, who, while protecting his girlfriend during an attempted carjacking, was left bloodied and shirtless on the streets of the District of Columbia.

Why are these stories becoming so commonplace? Why are hordes of young men, from Seattle to San Diego and from Minneapolis to Miami, now taking over America’s cities like a pack of rabid wolves?… Continue Reading

During his interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker was confronted with the reality of the state’s wildly gerrymandered Congressional Districts.

In a sad attempt to make light of this serious issue, Pritzker tells Colbert that his Democratic predecessors “we handed it over to a kindergartner class and let them decide…”

It would be funny if it weren’t so very serious. The maps disenfranchise conservative voters all across the state and undermine our republican form of government.… Continue Reading

Last week, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker raised the possibility of redrawing the state’s congressional map before the 2026 midterm elections, positioning it as a direct response to Republican-led redistricting efforts in Texas.

Pritzker, who has his eyes set on becoming the next Democratic nominee for the White House, hosted a delegation of Texas Democratic lawmakers in Illinois, offering political support and strategic coordination with fellow Democratic governor Gavin Newsom of California.… Continue Reading

In a case that could have national implications for election integrity, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear Judicial Watch, Inc. et al. v. The Illinois State Board of Elections, a lawsuit brought on behalf of U.S. Representative Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro) and two presidential electors. At the heart of the case is whether Illinois acted unlawfully by allowing mail-in ballots to be counted up to 14 days after the federally established Election Day.… Continue Reading

Among Illinois conservatives, frustration with Cook County Republican leadership—and their backroom deals with Chicago Democrats—is boiling over. In many circles, that frustration has turned into outright rage. This discontent isn’t new; countless conservatives have already walked away from the party. But unrest is growing. Talk of an internal GOP civil war is becoming more frequent, and some may even buy into the idea of launching a third party—a move that would all but guarantee more victories for the Democrats.… Continue Reading

At the close of June 2025, Jay Robert Pritzker declared his intention to seek an unprecedented third term as Governor of Illinois. This move, widely interpreted as a stepping stone toward a potential presidential bid, solidifies his political trajectory and raises critical questions about the nature of power and influence in contemporary American governance.

Pritzker’s path to the governorship has been paved with an unparalleled personal fortune. In 2018, he invested an astounding $171.5 million of his own wealth into his campaign, followed by an additional $145 million in 2022 to secure his second term.… Continue Reading

A Republican Precinct Committeeman represents the GOP voters of his or her precinct at the County Republican Party level.

But most importantly, a Republican Precinct Committeeman is the face of the GOP within the precinct. In many cases, a Republican Precinct Committeeman might be the only party official a voter ever meets in person.

This volunteer position is really what one makes of it. Some do more than others. But the Republican Precinct Committeeman’s job is in essence all about helping to grow the GOP and working to deliver the maximum number of Republican votes from his or her precinct on Election Day. … Continue Reading

Illinois Family Action is excited to share some good news for a change! Stephanie Trussell recently announced her run against Terra Costa Howard for Illinois State Representative in the 42nd District, which includes the suburbs of Glen Ellyn, Lisle, and Lombard.

Trussell has pointed out in recent media interviews that the Illinois House of Representatives currently has a super-majority of Democrats (78) to a super-minority of Republicans (40).… Continue Reading

“If Americans are going to reject abortion, they need to know what happens in an abortion. Who are the victims of abortion? What impact does it have on those mothers and fathers who choose abortion and on society as a whole.” – Anne Scheidler

Standing on the side of a busy highway, Monte Larrick talks with Anne Scheidler, vice president of the pro-life action league during the organization’s Face the Truth tour.… Continue Reading

“The End of Life Options Act” was introduced in the Illinois Senate on January 13, 2025 by State Senator Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) and in the Illinois House on January 14, 2025 by State Representative Robyn Gabel (D-Chicago).

If this bill is passed into law, doctors will be legally allowed to prescribe death-inducing drugs to patients who are suffering from terminal illnesses.

This push to legalize physician-assisted suicide (PAS) was added to a shell bill during the last week of regular session and then passed in the Illinois House by a vote of 63 to 42, with two members voting “present.”… Continue Reading

It is unfortunately unsurprising that yet another school district in Illinois has defied the clear privacy and safety protections that Title IX puts in place.

Illinois School District 203, located in Naperville, is currently in the spotlight for allowing a biological male to participate in the female’s track meet.

Not only was the biological male allowed to participate in this athletic event, but he (surprise, surprise) won the track meet.

This should, of course, come as no surprise to those of us who acknowledge a basic biological fact which states that biological males have distinct physical advantages over biological females.… Continue Reading

Illinois lawmakers are actively shaping the state’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget as the May 31st legislative deadline approaches. Governor JB Pritzker has proposed a budget of $55.45 billion – an increase of $2.35 billion over last year, but final numbers are still under negotiation.

On May 13, 2025, Republican members of the Illinois House of Representatives held a press conference, urging substantial budget reductions. They claimed over $1 billion in wasteful spending, fraud, and abuse could be eliminated to save citizens from new or increased tax proposals.… Continue Reading

Back in 2021, Governor Pritzker signed HB121, SB667, SB1596, and SB2665 into law. All four of these pieces of legislation enshrined into law Illinois’ stance on immigration as being one of the most welcoming in the entire nation.

The new laws strengthen the TRUST Act and make Illinois the second state in the nation to require local officials to end partnerships with ICE, address hate crimes against immigrant communities, expand workplace protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, and create the Illinois Immigration Impact Task Force to ensure state programs and policies best serve immigrant residents.

On April 3^rd, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 19 state attorneys general, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over an executive order President Trump signed in March, which they claim is an unconstitutional attempt to impose sweeping voting restrictions across the country.

The lawsuit refers to Executive Order No. 14248, which is a lawful and necessary measure to protect election integrity, especially in federal elections.… Continue Reading

Written by David E. Smith

It’s “May Madness” in the Illinois General Assembly and this special episode of Spotlight features IFI’s lobbyist, David Curtin, with an update on what exactly is going on in Springfield.

“May Madness” is a term coined by David Curtin to describe the legislative chaos that ensues in Springfield before the May 31st adjournment. In essence, during this time, anything could happen with legislation.

“Anything could happen, and usually does in May…

May is usually the month where things come out of the nooks and crannies of the capital– you have never seen this legislation before, you’ve never seen these budget numbers before.

As previously noted, the IHSA (Illinois High School Association) is in hot water due to their dedication to allowing biological men to occupy girls’ spaces and compete in girls’ sports.

While the IHSA currently remains unmoved, U. S. Representative Mary Miller (IL-15) is doubling down on her calls for investigations into the IHSA to take place.

She recently told Fox News Digital,

“The Illinois High School Association has crossed a dangerous line.

In this special episode of Illinois Family Spotlight podcast, Dave Smith sits down with IFI’s Senior Counsel, James Odom, to discuss the legal implications of the Homeschool Registration Act (HB 2827).

Their conversation focuses on Illinois State Rep. Terra Costa Howard’s claim that HB 2827 is intended to protect children through forcing homeschooling families register with their local regional office of education.

Smith notes that homeschooling families are thriving socially, academically, and spiritually far above their peers in the public school system.… Continue Reading

The IHSA (Illinois High School Association) has doubled down on its dedication to allow biological males to compete in girls’  sports.

Not only is IHSA’s decision a violation of President Trump’s February 5 Executive Order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” but it is also a clear indication of one thing:

The IHSA will gladly sacrifice the privacy and safety of your daughters on the altar of radical gender ideology.

Because of the IHSA’s egregious violation of morality and biology, U.S.… Continue Reading

Illinois is currently trying to legalize assisted suicide through the passage of the End of Life Options Act.

This Act, if passed, would give doctors the legal ability to prescribe death-inducing drugs to patients who have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses.

In this episode, Dr. Kevin Garner sits down with Monte Larrick to discuss the dangers this Act pose– not only to the terminally ill but the possible expansion of the bill to include non-terminal conditions and children.… Continue Reading

Did you know that legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Illinois would target people with disabilities?

In this Spotlight episode, Monte Larrick sits down with Riley Spreadbury to discuss this very topic.

Riley Spreadbury is a leader in the disability community and works with the Disability Resource Center in Joliet, Illinois. She is outspoken in her opposition against physician-assisted suicide and even testified before the Illinois State Senate committee.

“My concerns are that of course not every disabled person is terminally ill, but every terminally ill person, in my opinion, is disabled.

Transgender ideology has wreaked havoc across America.

Biological men, claiming to be women, have insisted on infiltrating women’s restrooms, locker rooms, and sports.

Because of the radical policies allowing this infiltration, women’s privacy was revoked, championships were lost, and opportunities were ripped away.

However, consequences of this ideology have been even more severe than this. The infiltration of men into women’s spaces has led to egregious violent acts.

In January of 2024, NBC New York reported on an incident where a biological male, claiming to be a woman, sexually violated a female prisoner on Riker’s Island.… Continue Reading

In this episode of the Illinois Family Spotlight podcast, Monte Larrick is joined by Attorney Will Estrada who highlights the dangers associated with HB 2827, the ominous “The Homeschool Act.”

Will Estrada works as Senior Council to HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) and is himself a homeschool graduate along with his wife.

“One of the arguments that we’ve seen from the sponsors of HB2827 is that homeschooling is unregulated, and that is not true…

There are educational neglect laws on the books in Illinois, so there really is no problem that HB2827 is needed to fix.”

Shepard Middle School, located in Illinois School District 109 in Deerfield, is under heavy fire for forcing middle school girls to undress in front of a biological male.… Continue Reading

With all of today’s hubbub about separation of church and state, it’s refreshing to hear someone invoke Scripture on the floor of a state legislature. … Continue Reading

Are there repercussions for legal suicide in the state of Illinois?

Robert Gilligan answers this very question on this edition of Illinois Family Spotlight.

Robert Gilligan is the executive director of Catholic Conference in Illinois and, in this episode, he dives into the very real dangers posed to Illinois if physician-assisted suicide is legalized.

“In states where this has been legalized, this leads to more suicide overall. There were 49,000 suicides in the country last year.

Democrats in Springfield have made Illinois one of the most unwelcoming states for businesses and families. They’re doing nothing to correct it, but instead have introduced bills to make it worse.

Due to the Biden Administration’s open border policies, Illinois is now home to over 530,00 illegal aliens, many of whom are enjoying free benefits on the backs of Illinois taxpayers.

The Trust Act, passed by Democrats in 2017, established Illinois as a sanctuary state, providing sanctuary for illegal aliens and preventing Illinois law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.… Continue Reading

In this episode, Spotlight brings a Legislative Update from David E. Curtin, IFI’s Lobbyist in Springfield.

We are only five weeks into the new session of the Illinois General Assembly, and already, more than 6,000 bills have been filed.

“It’s a record and they are proud of it. The super-majority is proud of it, but it is not good for the state of Illinois.”

IFA’s David E. Smith hosts this episode to highlight three very concerning bills that are pending debate at the Capitol.… Continue Reading

In this special episode, Illinois Family Spotlight highlights interviews with Nancy Valko and Scott Klusendorf regarding the state of Illinois and the End of Life Options Act.

Nancy Valko has served for more than fifty years as a registered nurse, and is the spokeswoman for the National Association of Pro Life Nurses.

Scott Klusendorf is a pro-life advocate– regularly traveling throughout the United States and Canada training pro-life advocates to persuasively defend their views in the public square.… Continue Reading

Illinois has long been held as a blue state and a powerful one for the far-left liberal cause.

But things are changing. You can feel it in the air and see it in the way people are acting and talking.

Not long ago, conservatives in Illinois often felt and acted as though we needed to hide in the corners. We were grateful when people stood up, but for the most part, we kept quiet.… Continue Reading

First, A little history

Republican legislators have been in the minority in the Illinois House of Representatives since 1982, except for a brief period of Republican control from 1995 to 1997.… Continue Reading

Would you be surprised to learn that all 14 Illinois Congressional Democrats voted against the protection of women and girls in sports?… Continue Reading

During a recent exchange, Representative McCombie declared her unwillingness to accommodate or collaborate with this influential conservative wing and has even refused to give the Illinois Freedom Caucus a voice in the decision-making process.

The Illinois Freedom Caucus, which represents a substantial contingent of principled conservatives across the state, champions fiscal responsibility, personal freedom, and accountability in government.… Continue Reading

Governor J.B. Pritzker is pledging to “Trump proof” Illinois through keeping Illinois open to transgender surgeries and drugs for minors, which is one of the issues that took center stage during the Presidential campaign.

In this episode of Spotlight, Monte Larrick sits down with Thomas Hampson to discuss Governor Pritzker’s plan and the harmful effects it will have on children.

Thomas Hampson is a contributing writer for IFI serving as an intelligence analyst, U.S.… Continue Reading

Is legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Illinois really that dangerous?

In this edition of Spotlight, Dr. Stephen Smart will answer that exact question. Dr. Stephen Smart is a clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Illinois college of medicine, and is in private practice at the Springfield clinic in Peoria.

Illinois Family Institute and other pro-life organizations are actively watching the Illinois state legislature for the inevitability of physician-assisted suicide legislation coming to the state of Illinois.… Continue Reading

Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly just passed HB 5164 in the Illinois Senate by a vote of 33 to 16. This bill, which passed in the Illinois House back on April 18, 2024 by a vote of 67-39, will make it almost impossible to find illegal immigrants with a criminal history and/or those who have committed crimes while on American soil, for the purpose of deportation.

In response, Illinois State Senator Neil Anderson (R-Aledo), posted the following information on his Facebook page:

The corporate media will not tell you this, but as a resident of Illinois, you need to know that during the 103rd General Assembly (2023-2024), more than 9,800 bills were filed during this legislative session. Thus far, Governor JB Pritzker has signed 1,057 of these bills into law. And since the session isn’t officially through until January 8, 2025, that number may yet grow.

On New Year’s Day, 293 of those laws will take effect.… Continue Reading

Should Illinois legalize assisted suicide?

To answer this question, this episode of Illinois Family Spotlight will feature Dr. Benjamin German and the remarks he gave in a special forum on assisted suicide to answer this important question.

Dr. German is a primary caregiver in the Lawndale Christian Health Center on Chicago’s West side. He is also an Illinois Representative in the Academy of Medical Ethics, the biomedical arm of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations.… Continue Reading

Governor JB Pritzker has been forthcoming and direct in articulating his desires to make Illinois the “abortion capital” of the United States.

In July of this year, Pritzker signed the Birth Equity Act (HB 5142) into law, which mandates insurance companies in Illinois cover the cost of abortion without any deductibles, extra costs, or copays.

In the state of Illinois, you can kill your baby at any point, for any reason, and with no added impact to your wallet.… Continue Reading

This special episode of Spotlight features IFI’s David Smith and Monte Larrick as they break down the results of the 2024 election.

Specifically, they will focus on Trump’s policy changes and the state of Illinois– Governor Pritzker’s promise to make Illinois “Trump proof” and how Christians can stay encouraged while living in a very blue state.

“The fact is… the Democratic Party left its base and abandoned middle class workers in America and have embraced and have become the party of college educated elite.”

We strongly recommend that every Christian voter prepare to vote in the November 5th General Election by making sure that you know where your candidates stand on the sanctity of human life, transgender confusion, parental rights, religious liberty and other big government policies.

The distribution of this information is one of the ways you can help spread the word about key races — we invite YOU to help distribute this information on social media, to your family, friends and neighbors — or any other local civic group.… Continue Reading

Early voting for the November 5th General Election is underway! We are praying for Christian voters in Illinois to come out in droves to cast their ballots in support of pro-life, pro-family candidates. We recommend you VOTE NO to the three referendum questions on your ballot.  For more information on these questions, please CLICK HERE. Haga click aquí para español.

The Illinois Family Action staff and board have compiled our endorsements for the 2024 General Election.… Continue Reading

The following guide contains a number of candidates from Cook County. These candidates have been endorsed by these anti-life, anti-family groups listed below.

It also includes judicial candidate recommendations from the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago (LAGBAC).

Personal PAC – Pro-Abortion & LGBTQ+ political action committee

Planned Parenthood – abortion & trans hormone therapy provider

Girl, I Guess – Stephanie Skora “lives as a Stone Top hard femme trans Lesbian and working class
anti-Zionist Ashkenzai Jew, and mobilizes her identities to work in solidarity with Palestines, to queer Jewish
spaces, and to fight for justice and liberation for all trans people.”… Continue Reading

Is it a Christian’s duty to vote?

According to research conducted by Barna, 41 million professing Christians and 32 million mainline Christians are not planning on voting in the upcoming general election.

In this episode of Illinois Family Spotlight, Monte Larrick sits down with David Smith, Executive Director of Illinois Family Institute and Illinois Family Action, to discuss the results of this research study.

“Romans 13 tells us that all authority is ordained by God… Who is the authority in America?

Women’s rights are the central theme of the Harris/Walz campaign and central to Eric Sorensen’s campaign for reelection to Illinois’ 17^th Congressional District.… Continue Reading

In addition to voting for federal, state and local candidates, Illinois voters have the opportunity to vote on three advisory questions when casting ballots in the upcoming election. These are non-binding questions and will only function as an official poll of the voting public. However, the results are likely to be used by state lawmakers in the next legislative session in Springfield.

These advisory questions were placed on the general election ballot after Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly passed SB 2412, signed by Governor JB Pritzker on May 3, 2024.… Continue Reading

“Operation Swing State” is in full gear for the upcoming general election on November 5^th.

The goal of this operation? To convert as many people as possible to the pro-child sacrifice side not only in Illinois but also in key swing states like Wisconsin.

NPR Illinois recently covered the work of this operation:

“On a hot sunny day in September, Elizabeth Posner and Mark Steen, two volunteers from Illinois, drove around the politically purplish city of Racine, Wis.,

IFI recently produced a document comparing the stances of the Democrat and Republican party platforms on eight major political issues.… Continue Reading

Earlier this year, Gov. JB Pritzker urged the Democrats in the General Assembly to pass legislation placing three advisory questions on our ballots for the upcoming election. Every voter in the state of Illinois will have the options of voting either Yes or No.

These questions are non-binding, meaning they simply act as an official poll of voters to guide state lawmakers on public opinion regarding questions of policy, but do not directly change law.… Continue Reading

The voting record and agenda of Illinois Democrats can only be described as far left on the political spectrum. We could justifiably call them extreme. But the deceptive media in Illinois will never identify them honestly because they are collaborators in creating a godless socialist culture.

Below we have posted a number of comparison graphics for candidates running for federal and state legislative seats. We’ve listed them by President, U.S.… Continue Reading

When Illinois voters make their candidate selections on the November 5, 2024, election ballot, they will also be asked their opinions on three advisory questions:

• Should all medically appropriate assisted reproductive treatments, including, but not limited to, in vitro fertilization, be covered by any health insurance plan in Illinois that provides coverage for pregnancy benefits, without limitation on the number of treatments?

• Should the Illinois Constitution be amended to create an additional 3% tax on income greater than $1,000,000 for the purpose of dedicating funds raised to property tax relief?

Is praying outside of an abortion clinic terrorism?

In this episode of Spotlight, Monte Larrick sits down with Constitutional attorney David Shestokas to discuss how pro-life activists in Illinois have been targeted by Eileen O’Neill Burke, a candidate for the Cook County State’s Attorney position, as it regards their Constitutional rights.

“She’s going after free speech… Possibly potentially freedom of religion… She’s intending to prosecute people not necessarily based on their conduct, but based on the content of their message.”

Election integrity has been the top concern for many Republican voters, but despite their complaints, few Republicans have taken significant action. Florida stands out. Instead of resorting to window dressing, press conferences, and memes, Governor Ron DeSantis established an election integrity unit within the state’s law enforcement agency, which has actively pursued criminal fraud charges. Now, he is elevating his efforts to clean up elections to a new level.

Gathering petitions for citizen-driven ballot initiatives is a tedious process that demands significant time, money, and organization to collect enough valid signatures within a short period.… Continue Reading

Yes, you read that correctly. Recently, there were 4.6 million voter and election documents, including voter records, ballots, lists, and election-related records exposed by Platinum Technology Resource.

What does that have to do with Illinois voters?

The state of Illinois contracted with Platinum Technology Resource, a vendor that offers services to 23 Illinois counties (and the City of Rockford) including ballot printing, election management, and voter registration software.… Continue Reading

With an upcoming General Election, election integrity is more important than ever.

In order to clean up the voter-rolls in the state of Illinois, Illinois Family Action joined Judicial Watch in their lawsuit

“against the Illinois State Board of Elections and its Executive Director, Bernadette Matthews, over their failure to clean Illinois’ voter rolls and to produce election-related records as required by federal law, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA)…  The lawsuit requests the court to require Illinois to ‘develop and implement a general program that makes a reasonable effort to remove the registrations of ineligible registrants from the voter rolls.’

What if you could leave Illinois, but never have to move?

Illinois Family Spotlight’s special guest, G.H. Merritt, says that it is possible.

G.H. Merritt is the founder of New Illinois, a non-partisan, non-profit organization with the mission of educating the people of Illinois about their rights under the U.S. Constitution to pursue separation and formation of a new state.

“… outside of Cook County, people do not have true representative government…

… you have a county with 40% of the population dominating the rest of the state with 60% of the population, and that absorption of power allowed… them to gerrymander and just take power completely.

The alarms were sounded throughout every village and upon every non-existent city hill—the Democrats are coming to Chicago! And indeed it’s true! The Democratic National Convention chose Chicago as their host city in 2024.

The dates are Monday, August 19th through Thursday, August 22nd.

They could hardly have picked a more like-minded community in which to gather. A cursory look back at the city’s history would inform us that William Lane Thompson was the last of his kind to be Mayor of Chicago.… Continue Reading

Former State Senator Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) has been posting personal video content on his Bailey for Illinois Facebook page for years now. These updates include political commentary, campaign updates, a Christian devotional readings and prayer. Since these video commentaries are very informative and encouraging, I often share these postings on my own personal social media platforms.

One such recent video post deserves much greater attention by a much greater audience.

In his video post on Tuesday, August 6^th, Darren highlighted some issues that have been on the minds of grass-root conservatives for some time regarding the Illinois Republican Party.… Continue Reading

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke before the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) last Thursday. This was her first speech as a presidential candidate, since President Biden ended his campaign and endorsed Harris as the Democratic nominee.

Rather than hiding the fact that the AFT has had a tremendous amount of power and influence on the Biden administration and the country, Harris proudly announced it, thanking AFT president, Randi Weingarten, in particular saying that she has been a “great force” and “an incredible friend and adviser” to the president and her.… Continue Reading

Here in Illinois, we are used to seeing governors, aldermen and judges go to prison for federal crimes. We are accustomed to the mind-numbing violence and senseless shootings every weekend, especially in Chicago.

We are used to high property taxes, which primarily are used to fund our failing government schools. While data from our own Illinois Report Card details widespread, systematic failure of schools to teach basic reading, writing, and math skills to students.… Continue Reading

In this week’s episode of Spotlight podcast, Dr. Benjamin German discusses physician-assisted suicide from his perspective as a medical-care provider.

Dr. German is a primary caregiver in the Lawndale Christian Health Center and serves as an Illinois Representative in the Academy of Medical Ethics, which is the biomedical arm of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations.

Dr. German’s speech will discuss how medically-assisted suicide works and the ethics surrounding medically-assisted suicide.… Continue Reading

The Illinois Republican State Central Committee (SCC) will be meeting tomorrow to consider how to fill the vacancy left by Chairman Don Tracy, who resigned in June. We are only aware of a couple of candidates who are up for consideration. Of course, we want to see someone who is fully committed to uphold the planks on the sanctity of human life, marriage, family, immigration security and religious liberty.… Continue Reading

There have been a lot of laughs at President Joseph R. Biden’s expense since his disastrous debate with former President Trump on Thursday, June 28.

Democrats have been in a state of panic since then.

USA Today on June 30 reported the shocking results of a CBS/You Gov National Survey in which 72% of voters –  as well as nearly half of his party – said they do not believe Biden has the mental or cognitive capacity to serve as president.… Continue Reading

The threat of non-citizens voting is real. It’s time to restore confidence in U.S. elections. Congress must pass the ‘SAVE’ Act which stands for the “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility’ Act.

If 6.4 percent of all noncitizens were to vote in the 2024 general election (which is the same rate as noncitizen voting found in the 2014 study) more than two million noncitizens (2,028,800) would end up casting a ballot.

If that same percent of the 5.1 million noncitizens who arrived in the U.S.… Continue Reading

As many of you know the issue of direct election of the Illinois State Central Committee people has been around for a long time predominantly promoted by a single individual. Though I am always open to new and better ideas, it is unfortunate this ill conceived idea is once again being revisited.

It is a bad, poorly thought through idea.

I called the primary promoter of this concept to give him a fair hearing on something he was clearly passionate about.… Continue Reading

By Allowing EVERY GOP Primary Voter an Equal Vote for Party Leadership

When you donate money to the Illinois Republican Party to fight back against President Joe Biden, Governor JB Pritzker, and the supermajority of liberal Democrats in both chambers of the General Assembly, how are the funds spent?

It is up to a 17-member governing board, the State Central Committee (SCC), one person from each Congressional District chosen by party insiders ranging from Precinct Committeemen to Township Committeemen to County Chairmen.… Continue Reading

Reducing sentences for our already under-incarcerated criminal population is a great goal of George Soros. Yet for the past 15 years, this dystopian objective has been supported by the Kochs and other libertarian front groups that convinced Republicans — and, eventually, Donald Trump — to join the jailbreak bandwagon.

Now, despite the ubiquitous recognition that we have a violent crime problem because of weak deterrent power against criminals, particularly juveniles, the Koch-funded groups continue to wield influence among Republicans to further weaken the criminal deterrent rather than strengthening it.… Continue Reading

In this episode of Illinois Family Spotlight, Monte Larrick interviews Pastor Myles Holmes of Revive Church.

In this interview, Pastor Holmes tackles the issue of the 2024 election.

Making America great again actually means making America godly again. We need to get back to the Constitution, but even before that, back to the Bible and what has made America great, which is faith in God.

Listen to “What to Expect in the 2024 Election” anywhere you find podcasts or click the link below:

… Continue Reading

In this week’s Spotlight episode, David Curtin, IFI’s Springfield Lobbyist, gives an update on the Illinois General Assembly.

As it relates to Assisted Suicide in Illinois, David Curtin has a hopeful update:

Assisted Suicide is dead for now. We don’t expect it to come up before the end of May. If it comes up during veto session in the Fall, maybe? If it comes up next year, maybe?

But, we are just ecstatic that IFI listeners registered their opinion on so many bills down here.

Illinois State Democrats used their supermajority advantage this week to ram through changes to state election laws (right before an election) to hurt two groups of people: parents and Republicans. With lightning speed in 24 hours, Democrats unveiled and passed legislation that Governor JB Pritzker hurriedly signed which limits ballot access and adds three nonbinding referendums to the 2024 general election ballot.

The bill, SB 2412, was filed at the last minute and left no time for citizens to weigh in.… Continue Reading

In this episode of Illinois Family Spotlight, Tom Brejcha discusses President Biden and his State of the Union address.

Tom Brejcha is the Founder, President, and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Society. He is a legal expert with over 50 years of experience in the federal and state courts.

Abortion is a top issue for the 2024 election, and Brejcha comments on states who are codifying abortion into their state laws and gives insight on how Christians and conservatives can counter this.… Continue Reading

On Sunday, April 21^st, Governor J.B. Pritzker appeared on CNN to discuss the 2024 Biden Presidential Campaign.

During his segment, Pritzker relayed a series of factually incorrect statements. For the sake of time, only three of these statements will be briefly discussed here.

Pritzker’s first claim was that adding Robert F. Kennedy to the presidential ballot would not affect Biden’s campaign. But a recent New York Times article noted,

Fears among Democrats are particularly acute this year, with polls suggesting that Mr.

According to Politico,

“In the weeks after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, Rep. Jamaal Bowman not only publicly cast doubt on reports that Israeli women were raped, but also called those accusations ‘propaganda.’”

Jim Marter, Republican nominee for U.S. Congress in Illinois’ 14th District, called on Democrat opponent, Lauren Underwood to let her constituents know where she stands.… Continue Reading

In this episode of Spotlight, Monte Larrick sits down with IFI Springfield Lobbyist, David Curtin, in order to get his perspective on the upcoming Illinois legislative sessions.

A bill that has a lot of conservatives in Illinois concerned is SB 3499 (Physician-Assisted Suicide). David Curtin comments,

The assisted suicide legislation is a very coordinated national effort and they’ve already done it in a few other blue states, and Illinois is the next state they usually stop at to try to pass something like this… [Physician Assisted Suicide] would allow physicians to dispense some pills to a person who is diagnose with a terminal illness to kill themselves at home.

This episode of Illinois Family Spotlight features Reverend Ceasar LeFlore.

Reverend LeFlore is the director of Public School Exit , an IFI-affiliated organization dedicated to facilitating the exit of children from government schools. He is also the director of Good Soil Good Seed (GS2), a scholarship foundation designed to help children afford to attend Christian schools.

Reverend LeFlore has an event on April 18th, called “Saving Our Children for God.”  Attendance is free and the discussion will focus on the danger of Illinois government schools.… Continue Reading

We strongly encourage you to vote in the March 19th primary election. Prior to going to the polls, make sure that you know where your candidates stand on the sanctity of human life, transgender confusion, parental rights, and big government.

Illinois Family Action’s board members are pleased to endorse the following candidates for office in the 2024 primary election. Many of these endorsements reflect differences between candidates who hold pro-life and pro-family positions and those who do not.… Continue Reading

In this episode of Illinois Family Spotlight, we are featuring a speech given by Alex Schadenberg which was given at the 2023 Speakout Illinois conference.

Alex Schadenberg is the Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition based in Canada.

Illinois recently introduced HB3499 (currently SB3499) which “Authorizes a qualified patient with a terminal disease to request that a physician prescribe aid-in-dying medication that will allow the patient to end the patient’s life in a peaceful manner.”… Continue Reading

Non profit organizations Illinois Family Action and Breakthrough Ideas; along with lawfully registered Illinois voter Carol J. Davis; join with Judicial Watch in announcing that a federal lawsuit has been filed against the Illinois State Board of Elections and its Executive Director, Bernadette Matthews.

At issue is failure to comply with federal law regarding voter roll maintenance (the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, NVRA).… Continue Reading

If you’ve driven anywhere in the last week or so, turned on a tv or radio, or gone to the mailbox, then you are probably well aware that the 2024 election season has officially begun. Campaign signs are on every street corner, political ads are airing on tv, debates are being held, and campaign mailers are hitting mailboxes. Over the last decade, politics have felt increasingly tense, so how should we navigate the election season as Christians?… Continue Reading

This episode of Illinois Family Spotlight features Dr. Karl Benzio, a Christian Psychiatrist who serves with the AACC (American Association of Christian Counselors). He is s the co-founder of Honey Lake Clinic, a board certified Christian mental health treatment facility located in Greenville, Florida.

In this interview, Dr. Benzio focuses on how God designed the mind to work and how we can properly steward our mind in our decision-making process.

This is an amazing interview you don’t want to miss.… Continue Reading

In this episode of Spotlight, IFI’s Executive Director, David Smith, sits down with Darren Bailey.

Darren Bailey is a former state representative for the 109th district in Southern Illinois, and is now running for U.S. Congress for the purpose of fighting for Southern families, defending the Second Amendment, Protecting the Sanctity of Life, Demanding Border Security, and much more.

In this conversation, David Smith focuses on the issue of border security and asks Bailey what he would do to ensure the safety of the southern border.… Continue Reading

Recently revealed federal data shows that in December we saw 302,000 migrant encounters at the border, shattering the previous record of 269,000 back in September. That is twice the population size of Joliet and three times the population of Peoria — in a single month. Among those who came in were 19 individuals on the Terror Watch List.

While the Biden Administration has ignored this ongoing crisis over the past three years, former State Senator Darren Bailey and 12th District Congressional candidate says that “the border crisis is the number one threat to our nation.”… Continue Reading

Illinois Republican candidate Adam Niemerg was removed from the ballot for the upcoming March primary due to failure to “properly notarize his statement of candidacy.”

This was ruled a failure on Niemerg’s part to fulfill his obligation under the Illinois Notary Act.

Recently, two citizens asked the Illinois State Board of Elections to follow these same statutes for Joe Biden for President. It appears that like Niemerg, Biden is also in violation of the Illinois Notary Act for failure to “properly notarize his statement of candidacy.”… Continue Reading

This episode of Spotlight the IFI Forum for pastors & leaders, hosted by the Spirit of Liberty Church of God in Markham, IL.

In the first segment of this episode, IFI’s Executive Director, David Smith, explains why Christians should be active in politics, public policies, and the 40 Days for Life campaigns that operate outside of abortion facilities. In his speech, David Smith emphasizes the first three words of the Constitution: “We the people…”

We have lots of opportunities as American citizens.

If you read the article from a few months ago about how to remove yourself or a family member from the voter rolls, you learned that there is a form that makes self-removal pretty easy here in Illinois.

After reading that article you may have asked some obvious questions like these:

• Is my deceased neighbor, grandparent, or friend still registered to vote?
• Is my neighbor’s son who moved out of state 15 years ago still registered at his former Illinois address?

In this edition of Spotlight, David Curtin, IFI’s Illinois General Assembly Lobbyist, gives insight into the coming legislative session.

One piece of legislation that is likely coming to Illinois is Assisted Suicide. Medical Aid in Dying, or Assisted Suicide, is authorized in states such as Oregon, Washington, Montana, Vermont, California, Colorado, Washington D.C., Hawaii, New Jersey, Main, and New Mexico.

According to the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine,

Excellent medical care, including state-of-the art palliative care, can address and help alleviate many sources of suffering.

According to a recent report from WBEZ Chicago, there were unprecedented record numbers of illegals apprehended at the southwest border in the last week of December 2023. In fact, it was reported in the last five days of December alone that over 50,000 illegals crossed our southwest border.

One might ask: when did we decide it would be good for the U.S. to become the number one WELFARE COUNTRY in the world?… Continue Reading

The first segment of this episode of Spotlight features remarks made by IFI’s Executive Director David Smith at the annual banquet. The second segment features a Q & A time with Eric Metaxas. You will love how he answers some pressing questions from notable Illinois pastors.

Though our present situation in Illinois celebrates radical abortion policies, an “untenable” immigration crisis, foolish gender confusion and sex-education in our government schools, Dave has encouraging words for his audience:

“Be encouraged.

MEET THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

• Must be a United States citizen.
• Must be at least 18 years of age.
• Must be a resident & registered voter in the precinct where you are running.

GET ON THE BALLOT

Form of Petition. Fill out the Precinct Committeeperson Primary Petition and print the completed form.

Circulate Petitions. The LAST DAY to collect signatures and to file them with your County Clerk is Monday, December 4.… Continue Reading

Most pundits credit the Democrats’ election victories last Tuesday to the nation’s apparently unquenchable lust for abortion.

They have a point.

Democrats kept the focus off potent issues such as crime, raging inflation, millions of illegal immigrants, the war on domestic energy production, and President Biden’s bizarre behavior.

Using abortion like a club, Democrats in Virginia flipped the state House and kept the Senate, albeit by paper-thin majorities. They kept control in Fairfax and Loudoun counties.… Continue Reading

Written by Suzanne Rickman

Ever wonder if you’re still registered to vote at a former address? Ever wonder if your name is possibly being used illegally by another to “vote?” Ever wonder how to find out, and remove yourself from the voter rolls at that former address?

Many of us here in Illinois have certainly pondered this possibility, but don’t know what to do, where to go, or who to call.… Continue Reading

Democrats claim election fraud is a myth. But videos don’t lie.

Roll the tapes:

On Nov. 1, Connecticut Judge William Clark overturned the results of the Bridgeport mayoral primary, calling video evidence of potential fraud “shocking.” Wanda Geter-Pataky, the vice chair of the Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee, appears to have been caught on video stuffing handfuls of ballots into a drop box outside City Hall.

On Oct. 25, in Paterson, New Jersey, the sitting president of the City Council, Alex Mendez, was charged with personally collecting large numbers of mail-in ballots in his district, destroying ballots that did not favor him and replacing them with ballots that falsely chose him.… Continue Reading

On August 14^th, 2023, Reverend Stephen Lee was indicted in Georgia for so-called election interference, along with 18 others including former President Donald J. Trump. The charges state he “unlawfully conspired and endeavored to conduct and participate in a criminal enterprise in Fulton County, Georgia and elsewhere.”

This is just totally absurd unless you consider Rev. Lee knocking on a couple of doors and making a couple of phone calls in Georgia a “pattern” for RICO (Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) charges.… Continue Reading

Illinois Tax Credits for a CCP-Company?

Significant opposition is growing over the Gotion electric vehicle battery plant now under consideration for Manteno, Illinois. On October 2, over 400 people attended a press conference and public comment session at the village board meeting to express their concerns about the project.

An hour before that meeting, the Illinois Freedom Caucus held a press conference demanding answers to some of the concerns Manteno residents have with a Chinese company building a battery plant in their community.… Continue Reading

Democrat Governor JB Pritzker recently sent a three-page letter to Democrat President Joe Biden complaining about the so-called “asylum seekers” and “refugees” being bussed to Chicago from Texas. However, the majority of immigrants breaking our federal laws are not refugees seeking asylum. Most are impoverished foreigners who are seeking the American dream and job opportunities.

And with our open border, who could blame them?

The U.S. already has a generous immigration policy to assimilate good people from around the world.… Continue Reading

In 2020, Judicial Watch with the support of Attorney David Shestokas, filed a lawsuit on behalf of Illinois Conservative Union against the State of Illinois, the Illinois State Board of Elections and its Director for failing to allow public access to its voter roll data in violation of the federal National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA). The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court in the Northern District of Illinois  (Illinois Conservative Union et al v.… Continue Reading

If you think that voter fraud is a fabricated issue, conjured up by Republicans who were desperate over the 2020 election results, then you need to watch the video at the end of this introduction.

One America News Network’s Pearson Sharp provides us a formidable lineup of Democrat—yes, Democrat—officials who all have sounded the alarm over the vulnerabilities of America’s voting machines. All at various points in time, Democrat politicians such as Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, Amy Klobuchar, Adam Schiff, Ron Wyden, and many other government officials have warned Americans about the threat of hackers and foreign agents meddling in American elections. … Continue Reading

Republicans’ new idea for winning the upcoming 2024 election is a nationwide campaign they’re calling “Bank Your Vote,” a Republican National Committee (RNC) strategy that is trickling back to the GOP in the states, including in Illinois.

The gist of it is, that local GOP officials are encouraging Republicans to vote early in 2024. The campaign is meant to maximize pre-Election Day voting through in-person voting, absentee voting, and ballot harvesting where legal.… Continue Reading

Should a thief be allowed to become a police officer? How about someone who sells drugs on the streets? Any sane person would answer both of these questions with a resounding “no.” It shouldn’t need an explanation, but there are a few main reasons why those who break the law shouldn’t be in law enforcement. The first is that they are either immoral or even worse, they know what they’re doing is wrong and simply don’t care.… Continue Reading

In this episode of Illinois Family Spotlight, Monte Larrick interviews attorney David Shestokas, a former 2022 candidate for Illinois Attorney General. Mr. Shestokas is involved in the battle for election integrity, and is the author of two must-read books: Creating the Declaration of Independence and Constitutional Soundbites.

In this episode, Shestokas emphasizes the important role that the Declaration of Independence currently plays in preserving American freedoms. He notes,

“What the Constitution is intended to do is to execute the ideals that are found in the Declaration of Independence… the Constitution itself is a pretty mechanical document, but the Declaration of Independence defines really what it means to be an American.”

Republished with permission from judgekenton.com.

The genius of the Declaration of Independence is the way it packs the entire philosophy of American government into a very few lines.  Listen to what it tells us:

1) “We hold these truths to be self-evident” – What follows is so true that anyone can see it for themselves.

2) “all men are created equal” – People are not “judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” in Dr.… Continue Reading

At a recent Three Headed Eagle Alliance event called “Pints and Politics,” Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur), a member of the Illinois Freedom Caucus stated: “No non-citizen American should ever be in a position to arrest an American citizen in America.”

This seems like an obvious statement, but Caulkins was responding to the recent passing of HB 3751, which amends the Illinois Municipal Code by adding the following:

An individual who is not a citizen but is legally authorized to work in the U.S.

In this episode of Illinois Family Spotlight, Monte Larrick discusses the pro-life movement with Eric Scheidler, who is the executive director of Chicago’s Pro-Life Action League. During their annual “Face the Truth” tour, dozens of volunteers line sidewalks adjacent to streets near busy intersections in Chicago and the suburbs, silently and often prayerfully holding photographs of aborted babies.

When asked about the public reaction to these photographs, Scheidler notes,

We expected to see more hostility and anger and we’ve had some incidents… But, what I’ve found more notable is kind of a lack of curiosity… it seems more difficult to get people to take a piece of literature from you… That’s troubling.

In this episode of Spotlight, we are featuring remarks from Dr. Michelle Cretella given at IFI’s 2019 Worldview Conference. During her presentation, she points out the differences between true, biological science, which supports pro-life and pro-family propositions, and the anti-science cult of gender ideology, which is preached by mainstream medicine, psychiatry, public and private education systems, and social and mass media.

Dr. Cretella also addresses the serious implications of the transgender movement: erasure of parents’ rights, women’s rights, and religious freedom; establishment of gender identity as a protected class; as well as potential legal action that awaits anyone who persists in using “discriminatory” language, i.e.… Continue Reading

Recently, the Illinois House and Senate unanimously passed a bill to help victims of carjacking. HB 2245, if signed by Governor Pritzker, will require all car manufacturers that sell in Illinois to have their own 24/7 hotline. This hotline, which will be run by the manufacturers themselves, will be used primarily by law enforcement to find stolen vehicles’ locations. If the vehicle is found, the bill will force car manufacturers to provide the location to law enforcement.… Continue Reading

Illinois legislators are hard at work creating a sexless society. Using sex-neutral terminology, they are creating and changing legislation to remove any distinction between males and females. Moreover, they are trampling on advancements in our society for women’s rights and lawful protections, while endangering some of the most vulnerable members of our society.… Continue Reading

Recent news seems to have fired up some grassroots and even maybe some conservative GOP leaders. The question proposed recently is this: should the Illinois GOP endorse or not endorse candidates in the primary?

In free and fair elections, why not just let the voters decide? Why would the Illinois GOP want to endorse in the primary if we are all, in fact, for free and fair elections? What would be the REAL reason why the Illinois GOP would want to endorse in the primary?… Continue Reading

Illinois enacted the Invest In Kids Scholarship Tax Credit Program in 2017. This program offers a 75 percent income tax credit to individuals and businesses that contribute to qualified Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs). The SGOs then provide scholarships for students whose families meet the income requirements to attend qualified, non-public schools in Illinois.

It is a carefully regulated process, but it works.

The total amount of tax credit that could be granted per year was $75 million dollars.… Continue Reading

Larry Elder, in this interview, capitalizes on the importance of black fathers being present in the home, as this is the greatest threat that is facing black America.… Continue Reading

Given the ongoing national conversation about voter fraud and election security, it would be encouraging to know states are looking for an effective, nonpartisan solution, wouldn’t it? A majority of states have joined something called ERIC (Electronic Registration Information Center), a nonprofit established in 2012 as a consortium of states to help maintain our voter registration rolls, but don’t get too excited.

Judicial Watch, a conservative, nonpartisan educational foundation that promotes transparency, accountability, and integrity in government recently published a document entitled, “ERIC white paper.”… Continue Reading

The Pulitzer Prize winning author, Studs Terkel once wrote, “Chicago is not the most corrupt American city…it is the most theatrically corrupt!” The same can unfortunately be said about the state of Illinois as a whole.

Earlier this month, Democrats in the Illinois House tried to take that corrupt Chicago Way to a new theatrical level while trying to pass legislation late at night. Because Democrat members, one by one, went home or slipped out of the chamber, they did not have the 60-vote majority they needed to pass legislation this late at night.… Continue Reading

History tends to repeat itself. This is certainly true of “Ranked Choice Voting” in Illinois.

You may remember a junior state senator in Illinois by the name of Barack Obama. In 2001, then-Senator Obama introduced a bill that would have put on the ballot a Constitutional Amendment to elect the Illinois House of Representatives by “fair voting” in 3-seat districts elected by voters given cumulative voting rights.

Then, in 2002, Obama introduced a bill that would have required that partisan primaries for congressional office be conducted by “instant runoff voting” or IRV, also known as ranked-choice voting.… Continue Reading

Stephanie Trussell is a mother, grandmother, entrepreneur, board member for the Illinois Family Institute & Good Soil Good Seed Foundation, and former candidate for Illinois Lieutenant Governor. In this special episode of Spotlight, Monte, David and Stephanie revisit the 2022 campaign and the events that led up to it.

They discussed how Illinois Republican voter turnout can be improved. Startlingly, only 45 percent of Republicans turned out to vote. Stephanie implores that conservatives must unite, not tear each other up for small differences in beliefs, and overcome a defeatist attitude when it comes to Illinois elections.… Continue Reading

On November 8^th of last year, Illinoisans went to the polls and voted on Amendment 1. This constitutional amendment passed on an official vote from Illinois citizens with a total of 2,212,999 yeses to 1,555,929 nos.

What is Amendment 1?

Amendment 1 is a proposed constitutional amendment that adds a new “constitutional right” for government workers to organize and collectively bargain. According to Wirepoints, Amendment 1 “cemented public sector union powers into the State Constitution.”… Continue Reading

40 Days for Life is a essential and vital part of the pro-life movement. The constant intercession they make to God on behalf of those contemplating abortion has saved 22,855 lives since 2007, closed 136 abortion centers, and has caused 247 abortion workers to quit. Their silent witness to passersby and the love they show by their presence outside of an abortion clinic can literally be the difference between life and death.… Continue Reading

In 2020, the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) wrote an article about voter rolls in America. On the heels of the Democrat’s push for vote by mail, their research revealed a large number of deceased registrants still on the voter rolls. It’s no wonder many Americans, let alone those in Illinois, don’t have much confidence in the system. After all, it would seem that if we could get rid of dead voters still on the rolls, eliminate duplicate registrants, or remove those who have moved, we would gain more confidence in the system.… Continue Reading

Among many Americans, there is a “crisis of confidence” in our nation’s election processes and procedures. The myriad of problems that have been exposed in recent election cycles have only added to that crisis. How can we encourage Americans to continue to cast their ballots if they think their votes don’t count? As someone who has been both on the frontlines and behind the scenes in America’s elections for over a decade, I’m grateful to say I’m more encouraged now than ever.… Continue Reading

For the second time in the last two months, a statue of Abraham Lincoln in Edgewater’s Senn Park in Chicago has been vandalized by a group of unruly leftist activists. It’s par for the course for activists to go around vandalizing monuments during their little temper tantrums, but a statue of Abraham Lincoln? What could someone possibly have against Abraham Lincoln? Didn’t he play a major role in ending slavery and bringing our nation back together, a feat that should easily give him the status of “hero?”… Continue Reading

The hope in a “Red Wave” election didn’t come to fruition in November. The work to flip the U.S. House and U.S. Senate to Republican control produced mixed results.

The GOP barely gained control of the U.S. House, which means Nancy Pelosi will no longer be the Speaker of the U.S. House, and third in line to the presidency.

Of our state’s 17 Congressional seats, three downstate districts have Republican representation, as we lost one to redistricting and one to a Democrat candidate in the newly redrawn 13^th district in central Illinois.… Continue Reading

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Citizens across the state of Illinois will be casting their votes in today’s General Election. Pro-family candidates need your vote. Therefore, Values Voters must stand up and be counted. Our voice in this election – and in every election – is critical.  So, if you haven’t already voted in this election cycle, please make sure you get to the polls today!

The Candidates: IFA’s 2022 list of endorsed candidates and comparison memes provides valuable information about where candidates stand on issues related to sanctity of life, parental rights, school issues, and more.… Continue Reading

What happens when you let career violent criminals out on little or no bail with no fear of punishment for violating their terms of release? In a dystopian hell like Chicago, that means an individual released after being charged with punching a woman in the face and kicking a cop in the groin will be rearrested for … punching a woman in the face and kicking a cop in the groin. Oh, and another sex offender released on charges of molesting multiple women will be rearrested for … molesting another woman!… Continue Reading

Illinois Family Action was contacted by another dad, whose story deepened our concerns about the race for Illinois Supreme Court and about the Democrat Candidate, Judge Elizabeth Rochford.

A third person has reached out, unsolicited and previously unknown to us, who felt compelled to share their story of injustice and bias, at the hands of Judge Rochford. (The same Elizabeth Rochford who donated to corrupt and indicted Chicago Alderman, Ed Burke and is getting millions from Governor J.B.… Continue Reading

“The wicked shall be cast into hell and all the nations that forget God.”  (Ps. 9:17)

Our universe operates according to myriad laws, including invisible, non-material laws. Understanding how invisible laws, which would certainly include God’s moral code, operate is critically important. To disregard God’s moral laws is to invite disaster.

For the last sixty years, (perhaps) well-meaning leaders have told Christians that we ought not involve ourselves in politics and culture.… Continue Reading

Every election cycle politicians love to make the claim that this year’s race is the most important election of our lifetime. Of course, there is some validity in those calls-t0-action.

We don’t know what the future holds, but one thing we can tell you is that the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade has made every election moving forward eminently and critically important.

For the first time in 50 years electing pro-life legislators is more than just symbolic.… Continue Reading

As Election Day approaches, we want to make sure that all of our subscribers, readers and supporters have all the information they need to vote their values in this vitally important election cycle. There’s still time for  YOU  to make a difference by sharing this information within your sphere of influence.

We the people have the opportunity to hold elected officials accountable for their policies, rhetoric and actions. We the people have the opportunity to make significant changes on the state and federal level.… Continue Reading

The most updated 2022 General Election Voter Guide is HERE. The Spanish version is HERE. You will not find this information anywhere else! NOTE: You will need your U.S. Representative (Congress), State Senate, and State House district numbers to follow the voter guide. Click HERE for candidates and district numbers. If you have misplaced your voter ID card, which has the district numbers, you can also call your county clerk’s office.… Continue Reading

Written by David E. Smith

Early voting for the November 8th is underway! We are praying for Christian voters in Illinois to come out in droves to cast their ballots in support of pro-life, pro-family candidates. We recommend you VOTE NO to the Amendment 1 referendum, the first question on your ballot. For more information on this question, click HERE  HERE or HERE.… Continue Reading

The 2022 General Election campaign is reaching the home stretch, and the start of expanded in-person early voting and local get-out-the-vote (GOTV) efforts are underway to ensure that all voters turn out to cast their ballots. In their GOTV messaging, everyone from the honorable precinct committeepersons on up should remind voters, “Don’t Stop at the Top!”

In the 2020 elections, Kane County saw four of its countywide offices flipped from Republican to Democrat control, including the open offices of county board chairman (elected at-large by popular vote) and state’s attorney.… Continue Reading

Meet Kathleen Murray, the Illinois Family Action endorsed candidate for Illinois Senate District 21.

Ms. Murray sat down recently with Monte Larrick to discuss her qualifications to serve in the Illinois Senate, her proposed PARENTS BILL OF RIGHTS, her experience with the 2021 Oak Brook Mall Christmas shootings and the policy differences with her opponent.

On the need for a PARENTS BILL OF RIGHTS in Illinois Ms. Murray stated:

“Parents, not the government, have the authority and responsibility to raise their minor children according to their values, to determine the appropriate time to introduce sex related topics, to make decisions for the physical, emotional and mental wellness of their child and to control the transition from childhood to adulthood.”

Thomas Devore, candidate for Illinois Attorney General, spoke recently at the Crete Township Republican meeting on the dangers of the SAFE-T Act. During his presentation, he delivered a damning legal analysis of the Democrat’s SAFE-T Act (HB 3653) , which will fully go into effect on January 1, 2023. Most Democrats voted YES and every single Republican voted NO.

Devore warns that the ‘no-cash bail’ provision in the SAFE-T Act opens up Illinois courts to civil rights violations.… Continue Reading

Illinois Family Action is deeply concerned about the race for control over the Illinois Supreme Court. You should be too. After all, the Democrat Party has held majority control for 53 years. Since the Supreme Court is one-third of the branches of our state government, it’s worthwhile to ask if the Court has served us well in checking abuse in the other branches of Illinois government.  Even a momentary consideration screams a resounding, “No!”… Continue Reading

On Sunday October 16, the Daily Herald urged a “No” vote on the top-of-the-ballot question on Amendment 1.

Illinois Family Action, like other freedom-loving and higher-taxes-loathing conservative organizations, is grateful for the newspaper’s rejection of Amendment 1. Interestingly, the Herald‘s editorial board also skewered some proponents who tried to use the abortion issue as a reason to vote for Amendment 1.

The Daily Herald on September 29 hosted a joint endorsement session with multiple newspapers around the state. … Continue Reading

In this week’s episode of Illinois Family Spotlight, we introduce listeners to Mr. Scott Greene, a Republican candidate for Illinois House District 86. He is stepping up to challenge State Representative Larry Walsh Jr. (D-Joliet), the incumbent since 2012. Value voters are hoping to help Greene win the election and bring some trucker sense to the Capitol in Springfield. Knowing that faith, family, and freedom are on the line, he promises to try his best to represent his district.… Continue Reading

Voters in Randolph County have the opportunity to write-in a great Christian conservative candidate for judge of the Circuit Court in the 24th Judicial Circuit. His name is James Odom. His wife of 20 years and their four children have lived in Sparta for 14 years, and have been very active in their local church.

Unfortunately, no Republican candidate filed to run for this spot which means there is a very real chance that the Democratic candidate, Jeremy R.… Continue Reading

Written by John Lopez

No more lies.

Since the first buses arrived in Chicago from southern-border states in late August, both Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) have been publicly critical, even hinting at a criminal investigation into the actions of southern governors, in particular, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R).  Abbott’s “Operation Lone Star” gained national attention when it started to bus illegal immigrants from the Texas-Mexico border to the self-declared “sanctuary cities” of New York City, then Washington, D.C.… Continue Reading

Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (D, Pro-Labor Unions) stated the following when the rule was announced:

“While independent contractors have an important role in our economy, we have seen in many cases that employers misclassify their employees as independent contractors, particularly among our nation’s most vulnerable workers.

“Misclassification deprives workers of their federal labor protections, including their right to be paid their full, legally earned wages. 

As we head into the midterm election on November 8th, we wanted to make sure you were familiar with a great candidate running in your area for Illinois House of Representatives. We cannot emphasize how vitally important it is to elect conservative Republicans in this election. Jack Vrett is one of those candidates who can bring common sense back to Springfield.

At times there is little difference between candidates when it comes to their Big Government, tax-and-spend philosophies.… Continue Reading

On Monday morning of Columbus Day, the Chicago Tribune issued its first endorsement for the 2022 General Election, and it was a “No” vote on Amendment 1.

“We endorse a no vote.  We support the rights of unions to represent their members and to bargain collectively for the best deal they can secure.  But we do not see an Illinois threat to those rights, and we see this endorsement as an opening to skew the balance of power in the public sector to an unacceptable degree.”

In south Cook County and into the southern suburbs, we have Frederick Walls from Crete who is running for state representative in the 34th District. This seat is currently held by incumbent State Representative Nicholas Smith, another left-wing Democrat from Chicago.

Walls is a Christian husband and devoted father of four children. He is a graduate of The Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters’ Apprentices and Training Program (CRCC), and has been a carpenter for 13 years.… Continue Reading

The first week of October was not a very good one for IL-11 Republican nominee Catalina Lauf of Woodstock.  After being elevated by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) to full Young Guns status at the end of September, Lauf entered October with a fundraiser planned in Las Vegas and hosted by Congressman Burgess Owens (R, UT) through his Dream Big PAC.

While Lauf was doing local events before departing for Las Vegas by week’s end, Monday afternoon, Lauf came under fire by local and state media over the tweet response to a tweet and news story by Andrew Kaczynski, CNN reporter concerning a report in Minnesota litter boxes were used in schools for kids who self-identified as animals was a hoax.… Continue Reading

Recently the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board published a searing indictment of the abject failure of Illinois to educate its children, citing statistics from Illinois’ Wirepoints. The board writes,

No one thought Illinois schools were a shining beacon in the education landscape, but we didn’t know how truly awful so many of them are. A new report by Wirepoints using the state’s data shows that an epidemic of indifferent instruction and social promotion has left children unable to perform at even the most basic educational level.

We get many calls during an election cycle for information on judges. In the past, we were able to offer very little other than ratings given by the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago (LAGBAC). This year, we are pleased to report we have more information than in any previous year.

Click HERE to view the judicial candidates endorsement list.

The list includes only candidates where we have something to report.… Continue Reading

This article continues addressing a ballot measure that Illinois voters must vote on this election cycle.
We urge voters to reject Amendment 1, a constitutional amendment that
would elevate collective bargaining rights in the Illinois Constitution,
allowing government union contracts to override state law.

Here’s a newspaper editorial one does not read everyday, especially from a 190-years-old newspaper like the Star-Ledger, the largest newspaper in the state of New Jersey.

The opening lines tells the story this is not your everyday publication by a major newspaper editorial board:

This editorial is that rare piece that presents an unavoidable conflict of interest for us, since we in the dwindling press corps are not the observers this time; we are one of the players.

This article continues addressing a ballot measure that Illinois voters must vote on this election cycle. We urge voters to reject Amendment 1, a constitutional amendment that would elevate collective bargaining rights in the Illinois Constitution, allowing government union contracts to override state law.

Creative artwork of AB5 from Lisa Rothstein, San Diego, CA

This article continues addressing a ballot measure that Illinois voters must vote on this election cycle.
We urge voters to reject Amendment 1, a constitutional amendment that
would elevate collective bargaining rights in the Illinois Constitution,
allowing government union contracts to override state law.

Thursday afternoon, the Daily Herald hosted a virtual debate including Shaw Media to discuss Amendment 1 and answer questions. … Continue Reading

Written by David E. Smith

Early voting for the November 8th election starts later this week! We are praying for Christian voters in Illinois to come out in droves to cast their ballots in support of pro-life, pro-family candidates. We recommend you VOTE NO to the Amendment 1 referendum, the first question on your ballot. For more information on this question, click HERE  HERE or HERE.… Continue Reading

This article continues addressing a ballot measure that Illinois voters must vote on this election cycle.
We urge voters to reject Amendment 1, a constitutional amendment that
would elevate collective bargaining rights in the Illinois Constitution,
allowing government union contracts to override state law.

“What if I told you there was a way you could earn real money without being scammed and without a tie…I’m talking about the gig economy…ride shares, food delivery…”

— Johnny Lawrence learning about the gig economy, Cobra Kai, “Downward Spiral”, Sony Pictures Television Studios, Netflix, 9/9/22

As shared recently on Illinois Family Action, the forced unionization of 1099 independent contractors is the hidden agenda now openly public for the proponent of Amendment 1.… Continue Reading

In this episode we interview Patricia Bonk, Republican Candidate for 30th House District. Patricia Bonk uses her unique experience as an ER nurse and firefighter to address important issues like public safety, abortion, property taxes, school reform, child protection, voting integrity, and Gov. Pritzker’s SB 1169. This bill diminishes the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act — specifically for COVID-19 remediation. In other words, the sponsors of this amendment intends to curtail the safeguard that existed in state law that allowed citizens to refuse the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.… Continue Reading

Yes, I called IL-11 Republican nominee Catalina Lauf a “phony” on national radio and here’s why

by John Lopez

On September 11, 2022, I phoned in to Beyond the Beltway with Bruce DuMont, which is broadcast live across the country Sunday nights from Salem Media Group’s studios in Elk Grove Village.  Three Republican guests were talking about Donald Trump’s influence on Republican Party politics. In particular, DuMont and three guests were talking about Hispanic voters.… Continue Reading

This article continues addressing a ballot measure that Illinois voters must vote on this election cycle.
We urge voters to reject Amendment 1, a constitutional amendment that
would elevate collective bargaining rights in the Illinois Constitution,
allowing government union contracts to override state law.

Note from John Lopez:  With developments late Thursday, September 1, with Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul (D) filing a civil suit against Drive Construction for violating Illinois laws, including the Illinois Employee Classification Act, this article will continue discussing Amendment 1’s hidden agenda, while on the surface is collective bargaining, but in reality Worker Classification will be implemented. … Continue Reading

No matter how often anyone claims Amendment 1 is not about Worker Classification, the paper trail of proponents proves claims as untrue

This article continues addressing a ballot measure that Illinois voters must vote on this election cycle.
We urge voters to reject Amendment 1, a constitutional amendment that
would elevate collective bargaining rights in the Illinois Constitution,
allowing government union contracts to override state law.

Southern California-based Jennifer Van Laar, managing editor for Red State a Salem Media Group publication, got me hooked on the Cobra Kai series back in 2019. … Continue Reading

This article addresses a ballot measure that Illinois voters must vote on this election cycle.
We urge voters to reject Amendment 1, a constitutional amendment that
would elevate collective bargaining rights in the Illinois Constitution,
allowing government union contracts to override state law.

The organized labor movement helped to build the United States of America to be the greatest country in the world.

Once workers were protected with laws many take for granted today, like the 40-hour work week, overtime pay and the ability for front line workers to organize, the American middle class was established and thrived through most of the 20^th Century.… Continue Reading

The controversy surrounding the UpRising Bakery & Café in Lake in the Hills (LITH) in southern McHenry County had built up for weeks concerning a scheduled “Brunch at Night” event titled “Starry Night Drag Brunch” running from 6-9PM CDT at the LITH location.

The venue, located in a strip shopping center on Algonquin Road, had been receiving anonymous threats on the door of the bakery and LITH Police had been notified of incidents in advance of the July 23 date as early as July 6. … Continue Reading

Illinois conservatives face serious challenges in the gubernatorial race.

In 2014, Bruce “The Deceiver” Rauner beat Pat Quinn in the race for governor by about 140,000 votes. Quinn won only one county: Cook County. Rauner won in large measure by deceiving Illinoisans–including many conservatives–with his dishonest campaign promises. By the time he ran for reelection in 2018, Rauner had been found out and, as a consequence, had little support. He received nearly 58,000 fewer votes in the 2018 election and was trounced by J.… Continue Reading

This past Thursday, Governor J.B. Pritzker and other Democrat members of the Illinois General Assembly held a press conference to trumpet their weak election-year economic “relief” plan. They must be tone-deaf. This temporary plan does very little for working families long-term. High taxes plus the inflated costs of gasoline, electricity, and food have all but destroyed discretionary spending.

Unlike billionaire Pritzker, the majority of families in Illinois have very little savings in reserve.… Continue Reading

Conservative Christian Jennifer Alber Blakely, lifelong resident of Stephenson County, is a candidate for Stephenson County Clerk, a position to be vacated by retiring Vici Otte.

Blakely is 39 years-old and owns a local business and has a small farm raising beef cattle. She and her husband are raising five children in rural Stephenson County and are members of the Stephenson County Farm Bureau.

Blakely has fifteen years clerical and office managerial experience, supervises nine employees, is a former insurance agent, handles payroll, tax preparation, accounts payable and accounts receivable, and is skilled in customer relations.… Continue Reading

Early Thursday (June 23) afternoon , the venerable Club for Growth PAC, one of the leading free-enterprise advocacy groups known for spending millions of dollars through independent expenditures (IE) to elect their endorsed candidates to public office, either the U.S. House, the U.S. Senate or governorships, endorsed Catalina Lauf (R, Woodstock) five days before the Illinois primary for the 11th Congressional District.

Applying discernment to this endorsement reveals some very unusual observations, which are shared to determine why this Club for Growth PAC differs from the other current 13 U.S.… Continue Reading

Anni Cyrus is the Founder of Live Up To Freedom, a grassroots group of international human rights activists focused on protecting and promoting the principles of freedom and equality outlined in the United States Constitution and the civil and human rights of all American citizens and legal residents, regardless of race, creed, religion, or political affiliation.

She is a friend and frequent speaker at Illinois Family Institute events with one of her event videos reaching over 1.3 million views.… Continue Reading

As Illinois Family Action begins looking at the Financial Disclosure statements (FD) of Republican candidates seeking the Republican nominations on June 28 for U.S. House or U.S. Senate, voters have an early look at the kind of Member of Congress they would be if nominated and elected on November 8.

Last week, the suburban Chicagoland’s Daily Herald ran articles about FDs for both congressional candidates and incumbents.

In addition to the contents of an FD, other factors will complement a congressional primary voter’s decision whom to support in an election.… Continue Reading

The important issues at stake are in the headlines every day. The attacks against the right to life, religious liberty, rights of conscience and biological reality are increasing; putting even common sense at risk. Most government schools are teaching inappropriate “comprehensive” sex-education to kindergarteners, and in many high schools are now allowing confused biological boys to use the girl’s washrooms, locker rooms and showers.

It’s not just the gubernatorial election that is of critical importance, but every office “down ballot” as well.… Continue Reading

We have been a fan of Liandro “Li” Arellano for some time now. We supported him 10 years ago in a razor-thin primary loss when he ran for state representative against the Republican establishment pick. We watched this small businessman bounce back in just a couple years as he ran for and became the Mayor of Dixon, Illinois. He has worked hard to try and turn around his home town which has been rocked by a scandal in which a City of Dixon Comptroller stole more than $50 million from the city to fuel her gambling addictions and lavish lifestyle.… Continue Reading

We are facing a crucial primary election on June 28–an election unlike any in recent memory. To help ensure our path leads to greater protection of our freedoms, heed the words of Bobby Piton, Illinois candidate for United States Senate:

“This the most important vote in Illinois in our lifetime. Vote David Shestokas for Illinois Attorney General.”

Why does Bobby Piton say this? Because it’s true. The importance of the office of attorney general (AG) is clear.… Continue Reading

Illinois Family Action has complied what information we could find on a few judges to help you carry out your duty as a citizen. The majority of these are running in Cook County. We are happy to provide the following 2022 Election Watch for Judicial candidates.… Continue Reading

We were very impressed with his presentation and the question and answer session with Woodford County Chief Deputy Sheriff Dennis Tipsword, Jr.  Not only does he have 27 years of law enforcement background, with a specialty in drug interdiction, he owns three small businesses, including an ammunitions machine shop.

Dennis is passionate on the right to life, ethics in government, responsible spending, and preserving Second Amendment rights to protect our families. His experience as a police officer also informs his opposition to the expanded “comprehensive” sex education mandate which, in our opinion, is nothing more than grooming innocent and vulnerable children for early sexual activity.… Continue Reading

We invite you to be part of the Election Integrity “Guardians of the Vote” Training!
This is an outstanding opportunity to learn how to protect our elections at a grassroots level.… Continue Reading

The IFA Board was impressed by Dr. Bill Hauter, who spoke with passion and conviction on issues ranging from life, to medical freedom, to school choice. He doesn’t shy away from making his faith in Jesus Christ known.

From his web site:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
                                                    2 Timothy 4:7

A Stronger Conservative Voice for Our District

I’m running for the Republican nomination to the 87th District of the Illinois State House.… Continue Reading

Since 1964 – 58 years ago – the Illinois Supreme Court has been controlled by justices put forth by the Democratic Party. Currently serving as a Circuit Court Trial Judge (16^th circuit/Kane Co.), Judge John Noverini believes it’s well past time for that imbalance to change. We are pleased to welcome Judge Noverini, a candidate for Illinois Supreme Court Justice from the second judicial district, a district that was recently gerrymandered by the Democrat-majority legislature, to this edition of Spotlight.… Continue Reading

Remember Draining the Swamp Does Not Mean Replacing It
With Swamp Water of a Younger Vintage

In the Republican primary campaign in the 11th Congressional District, North Aurora Village Trustee Mark Carroll, who’s endorsed by Illinois Family Action (IFA) for IL-11, announced early Thursday evening, May 19, he had received the endorsement of 70th District state Representative Jeff Keicher (R-Sycamore), with the following remarks from Keicher:

“It is important to understand that Mark represents adults coming to the table to solve our problems.

We were very impressed with the energy, conservative values, and the leadership Travis Weaver, running for Illinois State Representative in District 93, showed at our interview session. His record of accomplishment and community involvement, at just 29 years old, gives us great encouragement for the future.

As the state’s only full time Christian pro-life/pro-family organization, Illinois Family Action is proud to endorse the following candidates running for office:

Travis Weaver makes his positions very clear, both spoken, and in writing to his potential constituents.… Continue Reading

On June 28, 2022, Illinois will hold primary elections. One hundred and thirty-three days later is the general election on November 8, 2022. Through Illinois Family Action, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many excellent candidates who are running for state and federal offices. Lord willing some of these excellent candidates will win and take office.

The two most significant elections are the race for Governor and U.S. Senate. Do conservative, God-fearing candidates have any chance of defeating two abortion-loving candidates – JB Pritzker and Tammy Duckworth?… Continue Reading

Friday morning May 20 in downstate Lincoln, I participated in a political roundtable hosted by the daily POLITICO Illinois Playbook column writer Shia Kapos called “Pancakes and Politics”.  About two dozen people attended for the breakfast meeting ranging from party chairs (both Democrats and Republicans), political consultants, lobbyists and journalists including retired State Journal-Register reporter Bernard Schoenburg.

Given Lincoln is within the geographic boundaries of the 15th Congressional District and the incumbent-vs.-incumbent… Continue Reading

The Primary Election is only a few weeks away! As you may know, early voting begins on May 19th. Registered voters can cast a ballot at their township offices as well as at their county clerk’s office.

We want to remind you how important it is to exercise your civic duty to vote and be good stewards of God’s gift of self-government. We the people have the responsibility of selecting honest, wise and God-fearing people to represent us in Springfield and in Washington D.C.… Continue Reading

The Primary Election is underway! As you may know, early voting began on May 19th. Registered voters can cast a ballot at their township offices as well as at their county clerk’s office.

We want to remind you how important it is to exercise your civic duty and VOTE – and be good stewards of God’s gift of self-government! We the people have the responsibility of selecting honest, wise and God-fearing people to represent us in Springfield and in Washington D.C.… Continue Reading

Springfield has often been called a “political cesspool.” Our liberal legislators make sure there is an ample supply of sewage, i.e., progressive policy, to permeate our state – it truly is sickening. But there is hope! Felicity Joy Solomon, an enthusiastic candidate for State Senator from the 49th District, wants to effect change, make common sense the order of the day, and lead from the front.

In her refreshingly candid conversation with David Smith and Monte Larrick, Solomon explains why she decided to run for public office and why Christians must not only be involved, but also leaders in the political process – speaking with authority and willing to be used by God.… Continue Reading

The Primary Election is just about to get underway! As you may know, early voting begins on May 19th. Registered voters can cast a ballot at their township offices as well as at their county clerk’s office.

We want to remind you how important it is to exercise your civic duty to vote and be good stewards of God’s gift of self-government. We the people have the responsibility of selecting honest, wise, and God-fearing people to represent us in Springfield and in Washington D.C.… Continue Reading

Illinois Family Action is pleased to endorse Win Stoller for re-election to the 37th District. He is a strong and passionate defender of life from conception to natural death. He vehemently opposed the unilateral Pritzker lockdowns and has fought to reduce taxes and wasteful Springfield spending that hurts our families.

In his own words, from a district-wide mailing:

Pro-Life: Illinois State Senator Win Stoller is 100% pro-life and supports the unborn.

“It grieves me that our state has adopted the most extreme and radical abortion laws in the nation.

Woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself. ~ Susan B. Anthony

In the second episode of Self Evident, Eliana, Kenna and Jenna address the vital importance of protecting your heart as a woman–not merely physically, but mentally and Spiritually. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our hearts carefully, for out of it flows the springs of life. The girls list practical approaches you can take to ensure you are fully prepared for whatever life throws your way.… Continue Reading

Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin’s campaign backers’ mantra is “Irvin’s the only one that can beat Pritzker in the General.”

But is Richard Irvin really the only Illinois Republican candidate that can beat the current governor in the upcoming 2022 General Election? And who is this Richard Irvin? Let’s take a closer look.

Interesting Facts About the REAL Richard Irvin

• Irvin publicly applauded Gov. JB Pritzker for his tyrannical COVID-19 policies

• Irvin has consistently supported Leftist activist groups such as Planned Parenthood, Gay Pride Parades, and Black Lives Matter – which works hand in hand with radical anarchists such as Antifa

• Irvin has questionable financial dealings as Aurora mayor with Ken Griffin projects

• Irvin has made vicious and untruthful campaign attacks on fellow Republicans

• Irvin has very confusing family values

The Democratic Governors’ Association’s ads are already attacking Irvin’s criminal defense law practice by pointing to sleazy criminals they claim Irvin helped to escape stronger punishment — launching the effort to undermine Irvin’s claims he will fight crime and defend law enforcement.… Continue Reading

Illinois Republican candidates for U.S. Senate gathered at the Church of Christian Liberty in Arlington Heights on the evening of March 26, 2022 for an IFA candidate forum. Of the seven official candidates running for the GOP nomination, five candidates were able to join us for this special event:

The purpose of the forum (and the video) is to give Illinois voters an opportunity to hear directly from candidates without the interference, bias, and selective editing of the establishment media.… Continue Reading

Just 40 miles west of Chicago, the crowd was hot Tuesday night at the Fire Pritzker Rally in St. Charles’ Arcada Theater. And with good cause! “We the people” of Illinois have had enough of J.B. Pritzker’s tyrannical mandates. Illinois Gubernatorial Candidate Darren Bailey is proving himself to be the man to lead the people and scale back the reach of government in the lives of Illinoisans.

Throughout the event, speakers echoed the idea of taking a stand.… Continue Reading

Mark your calendars! Tuesday, April 26^th, there will be a massive get together in support of Darren Bailey for Governor in St. Charles IL! There is no fee to come, you will meet a mass of likeminded folks, and you won’t want to miss it!

Everyone knows that JB Pritzker has been an abysmal failure when it comes to just about everything his position as governor of Illinois entails. He has perverted public schools even further than they originally were, has further transformed Illinois as the abortion capitol of the Midwest, has destroyed local businesses and lives with tyrannical covid mandates, and has hiked the taxes so people are leaving the state in droves.… Continue Reading

For the past several months, IFA staff and board members have been researching the candidates running for state and federal offices in order to make endorsements and/or recommendations to our valued subscribers. Through this process, we hope to determine who among the candidates fear God, have a good reputation, love truth, and will govern honestly and righteously (Exodus 18:21; Proverbs 29:2; Acts 6:3).

Our endorsements are based on the top-tier issues that matter to pro-life, pro-family voters.… Continue Reading

Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson did a great job exposing the blatant lies, chicanery, and fraud coming out of the Richard Irvin for Governor campaign. During their morning broadcast on Wednesday, April 20th, Dan exposes the following inconvenient facts:

• Irvin has voted in 8 of the last 9 Democratic primaries.
• Irvin, as mayor, imposed COVID-19 vaccine mandates on City of Aurora employees.
• Irvin threatened businesses in the City of Aurora if they didn’t comply with the mask mandate.

Some makeovers might cost you a couple of thousand dollars to get new clothes and a new look. Richard Irvin’s makeover is costing over $20 million dollars. For most people in Illinois this has been their first look at Aurora mayor, Richard Irvin, who with the backing of Illinois’ richest man, Ken Griffin, is now running for Illinois governor.

Undoubtedly there are admirable things about Richard Irvin. After graduating from East Aurora High School, Irvin joined the U.S.… Continue Reading

Written by John Lopez

Back on June 25, 2019, Aurora Mayor, now “Republican” gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin, said the following:

“Aurora was built by and is still sustained by hardworking families where every dollar counts.  We applaud Congresswoman Underwood for her stalwart efforts and fully support H.R.1757 and its goal of providing tax relief to working families.”

As the quote said, Irvin applauded U.S. Representative Lauren Underwood (D-Naperville) in the context of her congressional office’s press release of 6/25/19.… Continue Reading

Written by John Lopez

On Tuesday (April 5), WTTW, in its segment “Richard Irvin’s Ex-Wife Hired by Development Firm Receiving Millions in Aurora City Incentives: Web of Politically-Connected Companies Involved in $128M Hospital Redevelopment” brought up the bad optics, though legal of Mayor (and now Republican gubernatorial candidate) Richard Irvin’s campaign fund, a charity and a former law partner’s campaign receiving contributions from a large project which won unanimous approval of the Aurora City Council.… Continue Reading

Every political campaign’s dream is to get potential voters to glance at piece of mail they find in their mailboxes, then their hearts pound quicker if those voters stop and read the mailing cover. Then they hope the voter will open the piece and read what they want those voters to know – either good stuff about their candidate or bad stuff about their opponent.

And that’s all besides the great money the printer gets for doing the mailer, the piece designer gets for putting it together and the political consultants commonly get for, well, being campaign consultants.… Continue Reading

How the Kane County Clerk’s Enforcement of the PTELL caused the Illinois General Assembly to write new legislation after winning in court three times (once at Appellate level)

In the waning days of the 2022 spring session, the Illinois General Assembly passed SB 3215, “Mental Health Validation Act“.

The legislation, which passed unanimously in the Illinois Senate on February 23, was taken up in the Illinois House on Wednesday, March 30, and passed by a vote of 76 to 38.… Continue Reading

When COVID-19 first emerged as a major issue in the news, Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) seized the opportunity to grant himself more power by declaring a state of emergency. Was Pritzker really under the impression that COVID-19 was such a major concern that he had to use these emergency powers? Perhaps in the beginning his concerns were legitimate, but after about 23 months, I think it’s obvious that his motives are not merely COVID-centric anymore: He wants to grasp as much power for the executive branch as he can before the COVID panic wears off (setting a precedent) because he is a corrupt, power-hungry control freak like so many other liberal politicians.… Continue Reading

Prologue:  On February 13, 2022, John Lopez called-in to the national radio talk show Beyond the Beltway with Bruce DuMont and asked a question to Dan Ronan, associate news editor for Transport Topics, concerning worker classification in the context of independent trucking.  The relevant 2 1/2 minutes clip is cued from the YouTube livestream with the context of the question being California’s Assembly Bill 5 and unintended consequence of legislation targeting Uber and other app-based companies, and the direct impact to inflation and the supply chain challenges within the trucking industry.… Continue Reading

The Daily Herald newspaper recently published an article about Congresswoman Mary Miller (R-15th) and her endorsement of Congressional Candidate Jim Marter, who is running as a Republican for the 14th Congressional District in the western and southwestern suburbs of Chicagoland. Upon receiving a Marter for Congress press release about the endorsement, the Daily Herald took the occasion to drudge up a previously debunked attack-narrative against Miller, by referring to her as a “Hitler quoting lawmaker.”… Continue Reading

After two cancelations due to weather advisories we have decided to reschedule our Candidate Forum to March 26th, which is a Saturday evening.

This forum will be for Republican candidates seeking the party’s nomination for U.S. Senate and the office of Governor of the State of Illinois. A panel of three Illinois pastors will be posing questions to the candidates.

The candidates for U.S. Senate will begin the forum at 7 PM.… Continue Reading

Of the seventeen Democrats who have announced their intention to run to fill retiring Congressman Bobby Rush’s first congressional district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, Chris Butler is the only pro-life candidate. He joins David Smith, Monte Larrick, and Pastor Ceasar LeFlore for a lively and informative conversation on this week’s Spotlight.

In his interactions with the constituents of the new 1^st congressional district, Butler has discovered that the people are ready for something different.… Continue Reading

The 86th District in the Illinois House is currently represented by Representative Larry Walsh, Jr. (D) who will seek reelection to a 7th term in November of 2022.  Walsh was appointed to the 86th District seat in 2012 when his predecessor resigned due to health reasons and has won ever since, and in 2020, did not face any opposition.

The district includes Joliet, Preston Heights, Elwood, Millsdale, Rockdale, and parts of Shorewood, Ingalls Park, Channahon, and Lorenzo.… Continue Reading

For the first time since 1992, the constituents of Illinois’ 1^st congressional district will be represented by someone whose name is not Bobby Rush. On this edition of Spotlight, David Smith and Monte Larrick welcome Geno Young, a conservative Republican candidate who is eager to bring hope and substantive change to Washington D.C.

As a life-long Chicago resident, Mr. Young is well-acquainted with the challenges that face the residents of his district – challenges that many other Illinoisans also face – and he shares how his America First platform will address these issues.… Continue Reading

The January 3, 2022 announcement by 15-term U.S. Representative Bobby Rush (D-Chicago) he would not seek another term in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022 created an open seat in the 1^st Congressional District (IL-01) for the first time since the resignation of Congressman Harold Washington after his election as Chicago mayor in 1983.

This Congressional District stretches from the Chicago Loop, into the Southside including Hyde Park and the University of Chicago, into the South Suburbs of Cook County and stretches into most of Will County and into Kankakee County, as far south as the village of Bourbonnais.… Continue Reading

Editor’s note:  Originally published on February 16, an additional candidate filing and other news in this race prompted the revision of this article.  Edited March 26 reflects the candidates who actually filed nominating petitions with the State Board of Elections. Edited April 3 upon the withdrawal of Juan “Johnny” Ramos on April 1.

The fight for control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022 includes battleground districts in the state of Illinois. … Continue Reading

Illinois has some exceptional conservative candidates running for office in the upcoming primaries. Citizens concerned with the direction of the state are becoming involved. Leftists, fearing the exit of persons of color from the Democrat Party desperately want voters to believe diversity is missing among the conservative candidates. They are again using identity politics to divide America, hoping to convince voters of the lie that conservatives represent only white America. … Continue Reading

While we are working to get the best conservative candidates across Illinois on the ballot for election or re-election in 2022, there is a reality we must deal with: doing all we can to ensure our elections are conducted fairly and accurately.

In 2020 we saw many examples of voting irregularities, even outright voter fraud, in Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. In Illinois we have seen serious election integrity issues in DuPage, Kane, and Peoria counties, and of course there are historic problems in Chicago and Cook County.… Continue Reading

People are sitting in solitary confinement in the D.C. jail for a year for trespassing on public property on Jan. 6, yet in Chicago, nearly 90 murder suspects are out on bail.

Last Monday, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart revealed that in his county alone, 90 murder suspects, 40 people charged with attempted murder, and 852 people charged with aggravated gun possession are out free on bail indefinitely, waiting for their trials.… Continue Reading

The self-government called for in the first sentence of the U.S. Constitution (“We the people”) doesn’t ever take a breather. With elections every two years in our state and nation, one election season ends and another begins. Primary election cycles give way to the General Election cycle whether in presidential years and elections for state constitutional offices or our local consolidated elections.

In the wake of two contrived impeachments against President Donald J.… Continue Reading

The 2018 election for Macon County Sheriff was an example of nearly everything that can possibly go wrong in an election. Unsurprisingly, the problems that occurred in Macon County illustrate the issues facing the entire state of Illinois. Elections and election results are often uncertain in Illinois for several reasons, and many of the related problems surfaced in the sheriff’s court case.

As a result of the legal proceedings in the Macon County Sheriff election, the ballots were recounted.… Continue Reading

The right to vote is nearly sacred in the United States. Elections are closely monitored for an accurate count and assurance that the voices of the people are heard. At least that is the intended outcome of the election process, but, far too often, things go awry. Many of us watched back-and-forth recounts, audits, and legal battles in various states over the 2020 presidential election. However, there was a battle right here in Illinois for election legitimacy of which few were aware.… Continue Reading

Why is there a record number of criminals on the streets? Well, if they are being removed from the prisons, where else do you think they will land?

It’s not enough for Republicans to only focus on funding the police. What point is there in funding the police if prosecutors, judges, and new laws from the legislature will just let out all the repeat violent offenders? A new Bureau of Justice Statistics report easily sheds light on why there is so much rampant crime in the streets.… Continue Reading

For as long as I can remember, Family PAC’s Paul Caprio has strongly urged conservative candidates to send Christmas cards to primary voters in their districts. At first I thought this wasn’t the best use of campaign resources and not a very policy-centric way to communicate to would-be voters. Yet, as I considered the up-side of a pro-Christmas, pro-family mailer, I became convinced of its genius. In fact, I now believe that my initial response severely underestimated it’s importance.… Continue Reading

In case you thought the endless catch-and-release of Darrell Brooks, the suspect in the Waukesha parade massacre who reportedly killed 6 and injured 60, was an aberration, think again. It’s a rampant problem in all 50 states, particularly in Indiana.

Last week, 20-year-old Deonta Williams was arrested on two counts of attempted murder after he allegedly stabbed two Indianapolis police officers near the Indiana State Fairgrounds on Wednesday. Williams told investigators that he lured the officers to the area by calling in a fake report of a white man harassing him.… Continue Reading

Supposedly, Albert Einstein gave this definition for insanity – doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Whether Einstein actually said this or someone else conceived it, it is a profound definition.

Does this definition apply to all situations? What is the context that needs to be considered? Are we as Christian conservatives in Illinois guilty of insanity?

I am going to answer this question in two ways: first in the negative and then in the positive.… Continue Reading

Welcome to part two of Monte Larrick’s conversation with David Shestokas, attorney and Republican candidate for Illinois Attorney General. In this Spotlight, the discussion turns to Governor Pritzker’s abuse of his emergency powers and executive orders – a deliberate overreach that has been enabled by the legislature’s abdication of their authority, as well as the failure of Kwame Raoul (the current Attorney General) to protect the public interests of the citizens of Illinois and to enforce the law set forth in the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act.… Continue Reading

During her first run for Congress, Underwood boasted of her experience in Health and Human Services, preparing for and responding to public health crises. Similarly, she touted her nursing career, although the New York Times has since exposed that she had “never really worked with patients.”

“Much of the Congresswoman’s rhetoric appears to be geared to gaining political office, rather than sharing truth.… Continue Reading

If you are interested in ensuring election integrity and eliminating voter fraud, you will certainly want to listen to this edition of Spotlight. Joining Monte Larrick on the podcast is David J. Shestokas, a former Cook County State’s Attorney and current Republican candidate for Illinois Attorney General. In his position as counsel for Illinois Conservative Union (ICU), Shestokas is uniquely qualified to address the federal lawsuit ICU has filed against the Illinois State Board of Elections, as well as discuss various violations of the National Voter Registration Act and problems with mail-in balloting.… Continue Reading

Money, power, and control – it seems that this trio are at the root of most of the decisions, directives, and policies in Illinois. In their conversation at the recent Illinois Conservative Union conference, Monte Larrick and current State Senator and gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey discuss several issues where the desire for power and wealth appears to be blinding our legislators to the express will of their constituents.

Larrick and Bailey specifically address proposed Illinois Senate Floor amendments to the Parental Notice of Abortion Act (HB 3173_ and the Healthcare Right of Conscience Act (SB 1169), as well as the Democrats’ self-serving remap efforts.… Continue Reading

During the weeks of October 19-21 and 26-28, Illinois state lawmakers will be headed back to Springfield for the annual “Veto Session.”

Using his social media account to circumvent the liberal media, Illinois State Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) recently posted a video update on Facebook to warn his constituents about the corrupt priorities that the Democratic majority has on the docket for these six days of Veto Session. Of these, we are specifically concerned about the following:

1.)… Continue Reading

On this episode of Spotlight, Illinois Family Action presents the second half of Executive Director David Smith’s conversation with Illinois State Senator and gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey and his wife Cindy. The good senator gives us a glimpse into life on a large family farm and shares interesting information about the wealth of vital natural resources that can be found in the southern half of the state. Additionally, Bailey presents his vision and priorities for Illinois, should he be elected governor.… Continue Reading

As Chicago braces for another weekend of wanton gunfire, mayhem, and murder, the city has announced that headshrinkers will answer 911 calls for “mental health emergencies.”

In other words, the Sun-Times reported, if someone calls 911 because his neighbor crows “I’m cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs” in the wee, small hours every morning, a burly cop with a stun gun and a Glock 9mm might not be the right medicine.… Continue Reading

Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3, of the U.S. Constitution requires legislative districts to be based upon an actual count of population every 10 years.  The Illinois Constitution also requires this.

The procedure for drawing legislative districts prescribed by the Illinois Constitution is for the Legislature to complete a redistricting plan for legislative districts according to the new federal census, in the year following the census.

If the redistricting plan is not complete by June 30th, a commission of 8 members (half to be non-legislators), appointed by July 10^th by each of the majority and minority political leadership, “no more than four of whom shall be members of the same political party,” will complete the redistricting plan.… Continue Reading

Why are left-wing Democrats lying about Mary Miller?

Because she stands for your values!

U.S. Representative Mary Miller is serving her first term in Congress, representing Illinois’ 15th District in Washington, D.C. Her husband, Chris Miller, is a state representative who has served in the Illinois General Assembly since 2019. They are a hardworking Christian couple who have raised seven children, operate a family ranch and farm, and are well-respected leaders in their local church and community.… Continue Reading

Senate Bill 825 will soon be on it’s way to Governor Pritzker’s desk for his signature. It passed in the Illinois House by a vote of 72-46, and in the Illinois Senate by a vote of 41 – 18. If signed into law, it would make the following changes to the Illinois Election Code:

• Primary Election Day is moved to June 28, 2022; General Election Day will be November 8, 2022 and will be a state holiday.

Next year, Illinois voters will have the opportunity to cast their vote for gubernatorial candidates in the March 15, 2022 primary election. If we surveyed citizens around the state, I believe most everyone, regardless of political affiliation, would say they would vote for a candidate that offers hope, displays bold and courageous leadership, and embraces transparency and accountability.

This edition of Spotlight features Monte Larrick’s interview with just such an individual: Darren Bailey (R-Louisville), current Illinois state senator (formerly a state representative) and Republican candidate for governor.… Continue Reading

Corporate titans tripping over themselves to be “woke” by condemning election integrity laws like Georgia’s S.B. 202 are failing in their duty to focus on running their companies profitably, ironically instead pushing an agenda that other nations show destroys private business under one-party socialist rule.

As a shareholder in the ownership of a major sports franchise and a former partner in a broadcast company, I could do whatever I want with profits once they were in my personal pocket.… Continue Reading

In early March 2021, IFI partnered with several other groups to commission a poll of 600 registered Illinois voters who were not employed by any political campaign. Nine questions were asked of the respondents along with eight demographic questions. The results are enlightening.

Of those surveyed only 34% attended church weekly or more than once a week. In terms of political affiliation, 42% identified as Democrat, 20% Independent, and 32% Republican. And in terms of race, Hispanics comprised 6%, blacks 14%, and whites 75% of those polled, which reflects Illinois population demographics*.… Continue Reading

Chris Kemp is running for Township Supervisor and Autumn Sheppard is running for Clerk.

Sue Harney, who is a current Trustee, is also running for re-election. She has been on the Board as both a Supervisor and Trustee for the Township for more than 16 years and has always run as a Republican.… Continue Reading

I am committed to serving the residents of Palos Township and will NOT be taking a state offered pension upon winning this position.  I want to retire the pension of the person who is serving now and help move our Township and state to a better financial situation when retiring this person and his pension.… Continue Reading

It is important that you know that the IFA board of directors and I, support Barb Tolbert & Nicole Grimes in the upcoming Stevenson District 125 School Board Election.

Like them we believe in good government which is reflected in their campaign platform of  accountability, choice and transparency. Both are very capable and qualified and if you care about having a voice in our children’s education and how your tax dollars are spent, we urge you to vote for Tolbert and Grimes in the race for Stevenson School Board on or before April 6. … Continue Reading

For Schaumburg/Palatine Township High School District 211, serving Palatine, Fremd, Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates and Conant High Schools, there are three seats up this election. The IFA board of directors and I strongly recommend voting for Kristen Steel, Robi Vollkommer, and Jessica Hinkle. All 3 are moms in the district and are the best candidates to represent parents and students. They are not funded by the unions and are opposed to the radical idea of biological males having access to female locker rooms and sports teams.… Continue Reading

Chris and Mary Miller are perhaps the most conservative elected Republican lawmakers in the state of Illinois. Inevitably, this makes them prime targets of the Left’s hate-and-smear machine.

Chris Miller is a state representative serving the 110th District at the Capitol in Springfield since 2019. His wife Mary Miller is a freshman Congresswoman serving the 15th District at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. They are a hardworking Christian couple who have raised seven children, operate a family ranch and farm, and are well-respected leaders in their local church and community.… Continue Reading

We have some great recommendations for you in Crete Township for the upcoming Consolidated Election. We recommend the following Republican slate of candidates for Township Positions. Under the conservative leadership of this Republican slate, the township has maintained a balanced budget and remains completely debt-free.… Continue Reading

We have some great recommendations for you in DuPage Township for the upcoming Consolidated Election. We recommend the “We Care” Republican slate of candidates for DuPage Township positions. We heartily endorse Monte Larrick and Antonio Timothee for trustees and Jean Kelly for Assessor.… Continue Reading

We have some great recommendations for you in Ela Township for the upcoming Consolidated Election. We recommend the “Serving Ela” slate of candidates for Township Positions and for Ela Area Public Library Trustees, we recommend the top four listed on your ballot.… Continue Reading

U.S. Representative Mary Miller (R-Effingham) is defending her husband, Illinois State Representative Chris Miller (R-Oakland), from claims by “progressive” caucus Illinois Democrats that he violated his oath of office by attending the January 6 rally held by former President Donald J. Trump in Washington, DC. She claimed his critics are targeting conservative Christians.

The Millers are Christians who attend Oakland Christian Church in Oakland, Illinois, where she teaches Sunday school and Vacation Bible School.… Continue Reading

For the past decade, I’ve been trying to raise awareness about the harms of the weak-on-crime policies being advocated by both parties. As crime continues to surge, even the most violent career criminals are released on little or no bail, a growing phenomenon that is responsible for most of the violent crimes committed in the country. The insipid mantra of the de-incarceration crowd is that we shouldn’t lock people up for low-level offenses.… Continue Reading

The Illinois State Board of Education has approved the proposed “Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards” amendment, and on February 16, JCAR (Illinois’ Joint Committee on Administrative Rules) will vote on its ratification. Dr. Eric Wallace joins Monte Larrick to explain why adopting these “standards” will shift the focus from teaching foundational academics and fostering critical thinking skills to promoting Critical Race Theory and “woke” perspectives that dismiss objective truth. Additionally, they discuss how Illinois parents and taxpayers can most effectively stand against the leftist agenda of student indoctrination.… Continue Reading

U.S. Representative Adam Kinzinger (IL-16th) upset many of his fellow Republicans around the country with the statements he’s made about former President Donald J. Trump in recent weeks. Perhaps none more so than the county chairman of 36 southern Illinois regional Republican Party committees who issued a letter condemning Kinzinger for his actions including calling for the impeachment of President Trump and failing to support the president’s claims of election fraud.

The GOP county chairs voted to issue their condemnation at the Southern Regional Zoom Meeting Jan.… Continue Reading

The Democratic Party is firmly in control of both federal and Illinois government – now what do we do? Former Illinois state representative, Jeanne Ives, addresses that question in part two of our Spotlight conversation (listen to part one here). We discuss an alarming proposal by liberal, secular Democrats to “restore constitutional secularism and patriotic pluralism” and Jeanne details how we can and must fight against this assault on religious freedom.… Continue Reading

Where do we go from here? Our state is currently suffocating under the weight of massive debt and failed Democratic policies. Yet, former state representative Jeanne Ives says there is hope for Illinois conservatives. She suggests the Republican Party focus on promoting truth, electing conservatives to local governing bodies and boards, and insisting on competency from candidates and government – some TLC, if you will. Jeanne also details the three big issues on which Republicans must stand in unity and gives insight on the compensation Illinois taxpayers pay our public “servants” (warning, you might need to monitor your blood pressure).… Continue Reading

Finally, 2020, the year many have proclaimed the Worst. Year. Ever, nears the finish line. Joining us for the last podcast of this extraordinary year is Ben Smith, the producer of Spotlight. Ben is a 20-year-old college sophomore, part-time employee of IFI and IFA, and the son of Executive Director, David Smith. Follow Ben on Twitter @realbs19.

Our “eclectic conversation” includes a discussion of Michael Madigan’s future in the Illinois House of Representatives, the perpetuation of racial division in America, the relevance of biblical authority, Ben’s online interactions with Marxist professors and peers at the University of Southern California, the fate of religious freedom in a Biden-Harris administration, indoctrination in government schools and government intrusion in homeschooling, election integrity, the pandemic, President Trump’s potential post-White House role in the Republican Party, and much more.… Continue Reading

Republicans have been stereotyped for years as the party of “old, rich white men,” which   Democrats have exploited to win over young female voters. The greater number of Democrat women elected to Congress as compared to Republican women was used against Republicans. For example, in the 2018 Primaries, a record 102 women were elected/re-elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and out of that number, only 13 were Republicans.

The left-wing women on Capitol Hill are so confident in their power that some have coined the term “squad” for themselves, as if they were big-shot celebrities.… Continue Reading