The Illinois Family Spotlight podcast will highlight a specific cultural or political issue of which our listeners should be aware. Our discussions will be informed by a biblical worldview that will help expose the lies and distortions promulgated within secular culture. We will be interviewing policy experts and scholars whose knowledge and insights will help listeners form a wiser worldview.
Yes, the outlook is decidedly bleak in Illinois when it comes to pro-life issues, but the Rev. Ceasar LeFlore declares that pro-life Illinoisans don’t have the option of silence. In accepting the Henry Hyde Life Leadership Award at the recent SpeakOut Illinois conference, Pastor LeFlore thanks the many men and women who encouraged and discipled him as he answered God’s call to the abortion ministry. Likewise, he encourages and challenges the conference attendees and us to stand up and speak out for the sanctity of the unborn.… Continue Reading
| Benjamin D. Smith | April 7, 2020 5:11 AM | Comments Off on A Genuine Life Leader: Ceasar LeFlore Accepts SpeakOut Illinois Award (Illinois Family Spotlight #193)
Rick Laib, a Sergeant with the Will County Sheriff’s Office and the Republican candidate for Illinois’ 11th congressional district seat, joins Monte Larrick for this very timely edition of Spotlight. Sgt. Laib relates the challenges of running for office when the most effective methods of campaigning have been eliminated due to the Coronavirus and he offers suggestions as to how citizens can best help first responders during this crisis. Monte and Sgt. Laib also discuss government spending in light of COVID-19, the responsibilities of government and individuals regarding future preparedness, and the tension between the government’s quarantine orders and the public’s constitutional right to religious freedom.… Continue Reading
| Benjamin D. Smith | March 31, 2020 5:00 AM | Comments Off on “How Can We Help Our First Responders in This Pandemic?” (Illinois Family Spotlight #192)
Carol Davis recently gave a presentation at a recent FreedomWorks “Women Win” event about social media. Davis talks about using social media to present an opposing viewpoint to the usual media narrative and ultimately, sway elections. Carol Davis is the leader of the Illinois Conservative Union and is very active in the Illinois political landscape.
Spotlight
"Social Media in Politics: 101" (Illinois Family Spotlight #191)
This special edition of Spotlight features a timely interview with Southern Illinois Republican Senator Paul Schimpf on NewsRadio WJPF in Herrin, Illinois. Senator Schimpf lends his opnion and insight into how Illinois is treating the Coronavirus pandemic, if they are going overboard, doing too little, or possibly adding unnecessary government programs in relief packages.
Our thanks to WJPF for letting us use this interview.
Spotlight
BONUS: How is Illinois Reacting to the COVID-19 Pandemic? (Illinois Family Spotlight Special)
| Benjamin D. Smith | March 19, 2020 5:44 PM | Comments Off on BONUS: How is Illinois Reacting to the COVID-19 Pandemic? (Illinois Family Spotlight Special)
At the recent SpeakOut Illinois conference, Monte Larrick had the opportunity to connect with Illinois State Senator Dan McConchie of the 26th district. To begin this edition of Spotlight, Sen. McConchie described his approach to his senatorial responsibilities and gave detailed advice to constituents who want to have productive interactions with their elected officials in Springfield. Monte and Sen. McConchie considered how efforts to repeal the Parental Notice of Abortion Act, mandate HPV vaccinations for ALL Illinois youth, and eliminate any religious exemption for immunizations are trampling on parental rights.… Continue Reading
Monte Larrick caught up with Peter Breen, the Vice President and Senior Counsel for the Thomas More Society, at the recent SpeakOut Illinois event in Oakbrook Terrace. They talked about Breen’s candidacy for the 48th House district, his work on the fair maps petition, and the threats to families in Illinois–taking the form of the erasure of parental notice of abortion, the trampling of parental rights with the mandatory HPV vaccine, and the elimination of informed and religious objection to vaccines generally.… Continue Reading
The first half of this week’s Spotlight podcast features Christian broadcaster Janet Mefferd’s interview with IFI’s cultural affairs writer, Laurie Higgins. Their conversation centers on the American Psychological Association’s Division 44: Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity and the numerous task forces within this division that strive to destigmatize and normalize deviant sexual practices such as polyamory, “ethical” non-monogamous relationships, minor attraction, and more.
Spotlight continues after the break with highlights from a Concerned Citizens for America forum in Rockford.… Continue Reading
Dead-baby supporters U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, along with 42 collaborators helped defeat Senator Ben Sasse’s attempt to prohibit infanticide. Durbin took to the Senate floor to lie about Sasse’s bill by referring to it as an abortion bill despite the fact that he knows it has nothing to do with restricting access to abortion.
Latasha Fields, founder and director of CHESS – Christian Home Educators Support System, joins IFI executive director David Smith on this edition of Spotlight. In the first half of the podcast, David and Latasha discuss egregious legislation pending in the Illinois General Assembly that aims to eviscerate parental rights and eliminate religious liberty.
State Representative Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston) recently introduced HB 4870 would mandate the HPV vaccination for ALL Illinois students at the 6th grade level.… Continue Reading
| Benjamin D. Smith | February 25, 2020 4:00 AM | Comments Off on “Parental Rights, Religious Liberty and American History” (Illinois Family Spotlight #187)
Bear with me while I tie together some disparate threads into a whole cloth.
First up is a frightening story from Canada—the “progressive” dreamscape in which Big Brother rules with an iron fist, censoring, indoctrinating, usurping parental rights, and threatening imprisonment of anyone who claims 2 + 2 = 4. This story should serve as a warning to Republicans in the United States.
Robert Hoogland, father of a now 15-year-old daughter, is living in the “progressive” dreamscape otherwise known as a living nightmare.… Continue Reading
| Benjamin D. Smith | 
April 7, 2020 5:11 AM | 
Comments Off on A Genuine Life Leader: Ceasar LeFlore Accepts SpeakOut Illinois Award (Illinois Family Spotlight #193) 
