Illinois | November 10, 2021
Illinois amends religious freedom law to prevent people from skirting vaccine mandates
Illinois | November 10, 2021
The governor of Illinois has signed a new law designed to prevent people from using a decades-old religious liberty law to avoid complying with coronavirus vaccine mandates.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1169 into law Monday to clarify that the state’s Health Care Right of Conscience Act can’t be used to challenge coronavirus vaccination requirements or other actions taken by employers or businesses to “prevent contraction or transmission of COVID-19.”
In a statement, the Democrat indicated that the measure, which takes effect June 1, is designed to ensure that the law “cannot be abused or misinterpreted to jeopardize workplace safety.”
Pritzker described “masks, vaccines, and testing requirements” as “lifesaving measures that keep our workplaces and communities safe.” He praised the General Assembly for “ensuring that the Health Care Right of Conscience Act is no longer wrongly used against institutions who are putting safety and science first.” … (Excerpts from the Christian Post)
Illinois | October 29, 2021
Illinois lawmakers pass Congressional boundary maps for next 10 years hours after release without public hearing
Illinois | October 29, 2021
Democrats at the Illinois statehouse early Friday morning passed new congressional maps, which will last for the next decade, hours after the latest legislative boundaries were released late Thursday night without a public hearing.
Illinois lost a seat in Congress for the next ten years because of the state’s continued population decline. Illinois will now be 17 seats in the U.S. Congress. For weeks, statehouse Republicans have been trying to discern what input is being considered by Democrat staff crafting the maps. During a midday hearing Thursday, state Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington, asked Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, several different ways whether the governor’s office has been involved. “Thank you, counselor, are we preparing for litigation at this point,” Harmon said. “I’m just trying to get a question answered as to whether the governor provided you input on the bill,” Barickman said.“I am not aware of any notes or any input,” Harmon said. Thursday’s hearing was on the third draft of the map…. (Excerpts from the Washington Examiner)
Illinois | October 20, 2021
21 Chicago Officers Placed on No-Pay Leave For Defying City’s Vaccine Reporting Mandate
Illinois | October 20, 2021
Twenty-one officers with the Chicago Police Department have been placed on no-pay leave for refusing to disclose their COVID-19 vaccination status, as required by a city mandate, according to an official.
Chicago Police Superintendent David O. Brown confirmed the figure during a press conference on Tuesday, a day after Mayor Lori Lightfoot said that a “very small number” of officers had been put on no-pay status for refusing to comply with the mandate after being given several opportunities to do so.
Brown told reporters that 67.7 percent of the department’s 12,770 employees had so far complied with a city requirement to report their COVID-19 vaccination status. The department has the lowest compliance rate with the city’s mandate of any city department, the Chicago Sun Times reported…. (Excerpts from the Epoch Times)
District of Columbia, Illinois, International | October 18, 2021
US Should Secure Freedom of Missionaries in Haiti Without Ransom: Rep. Kinzinger
District of Columbia, Illinois, International | October 18, 2021
The United States should free missionaries in Haiti without ransom, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said on Sunday, shortly after a U.S. Christian aid organization said a group of its missionaries had been kidnapped in the Caribbean nation.
The Illinois Republican told CNN that the United States must find the group and see if it can negotiate their release without paying a ransom or should use the military or police to secure their freedom.
“We need to track down where they are and see if negotiations—without paying ransom—are possible. Or do whatever we need to do, on a military front or a police front,” Kinzinger, who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said… (Excerpts from the Epoch Times)
Illinois | September 16, 2021
Illinois Dem Pushes for ‘Clean Energy’ Subsidies That Would Pad His Pocket
Illinois | September 16, 2021
Illinois Democratic representative Sean Casten has urged Congress to spend billions of dollars on “tax credits for clean energy.” Excluded from his pitch is any mention of his ownership stake in an alternative energy company that would benefit from such spending.
Casten on Monday joined environmental advocates at a “Climate Action Now” rally, imploring his House colleagues to pass President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion spending plan with “no compromises” on subsidies and incentives for the alternative energy sector. Casten did not divulge his vested financial interest in those provisions. According to Casten’s latest financial disclosure, the Democrat holds an ownership stake in Greenleaf Power, a self-described “leading provider of renewable energy in North America.” The company, its website states, sells carbon-neutral electricity to “municipal, public power, and investor owned utilities.” Biden’s multitrillion-dollar bill, meanwhile, includes a $150 billion program to compel electric and municipal power providers to purchase more renewable energy… (Excerpts from the Washington Free Beacon)
Illinois | August 20, 2021
The Government Fines Hobby Lobby $220,000 For Trying to Protect Women’s Privacy
Illinois | August 20, 2021
A Hobby Lobby store in Illinois barred a male employee pretending to be a woman from using the women’s restroom. He was directed to the store’s unisex bathroom but wanted access to the women’s private facility. He filed a lawsuit.
Was Hobby Lobby’s first mistake acknowledging the man’s “transition” and changing his employee records? The employee had used the women’s restroom before, and when called out for it, filed a complaint with the state’s human rights commission. The commission later ruled Hobby Lobby’s actions discriminatory.
Bloomberg reported on the outcome of the lawsuit. The man’s sex is “unquestionably female,” the court contended, and fined the retailer $220,000 for breaking state law…. (Excerpts from Black Community News)