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CCI Sets Legislative Agenda: Pro-Family, Pro-Life and Pro-Community

Msgr. Stuart Swetland

This is the time in the political season when agendas are established and announced. We have heard the President’s Inaugural and State of the Union Addresses. The Democratic Leadership gave their rebuttal. Governor Blagojevich has given his State of the State Speech. Both National parties’ are preparing for new chairman. All in all it is the time when political priorities are made clear.

There was much in these speeches and platforms that Catholic citizens will wholeheartedly support. There are some areas and ideas that many Catholics will find troubling. There are still others on which Catholics (like most groups in America) will be seriously divided.

However, one real concern that we at the Catholic Conference of Illinois have is the relative lack of attention being paid to the “least among us” (cf. Mt 25:31-46) and to the common good. So as we announce our priorities for 2005-06 we wish to put forward a legislative agenda, rooted in the basic principles of Catholic Social teaching, that is pro-family, pro-life and pro-community and which shows a preferential option for those who are most poor and vulnerable.

Based on recommendations from the staff and departments of the Catholic Conference the following seven proposals are the chief priorities for 2005-06:

1) Low Income Housing:

Support legislation enacting the Rental Housing Support program that would provide approximately $30 million to subsidize rent for low income people throughout the state. The funds would be raised through an increase of $10 per filing on real estate transactions.

2) Increase Funding to Social Services:

Continue advocacy for a cost of doing business for social service agencies that contract with the state of Illinois. Since 2001, the state has not increased the overall rate for agencies such as Catholic Charities that provide necessary emergency food and shelter, foster care, adoption, senior services, refugee resettlement and a range of other services to those in need.

3) “Born-alive” Infant Protection Act:

Support legislation that will require legal protection and care for infants “born alive” during an abortion procedure. This legislation, modeled after the federal law signed into law by President Bush in August 2002, is needed because the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that “a baby is not a person until it has established a life independent of its mother” which is contrary to new federal law.

4) Human Trafficking Legislation:

Advocate for a state law to address the problem of human trafficking. Recent enactment of a federal law encourages states to pass legislation certifying that an immigrant has been “trafficked” in specified circumstances so that prosecutions may be made and the immigrant in question may be deemed eligible for certain resettlement services.

5) Low Income School Tuition and Tutoring Assistance:

Introduce legislation that will allow for a $3,500 opportunity scholarship for parents of children choosing to attend non-public schools, as well as a separate $500 scholarship for qualifying pupils to obtain after-school tutoring services. Eligibility is limited to low income families in Chicago with a provision to expand the program after three years to other parts of the state.

6) Promote Ethical Stem Cell Research:

Introduce legislation (SB188) that will ban all forms of human cloning and embryonic stem cell research and encourages adult stem cell research.

7) Low Income Health Care:

Advocate for increasing the eligibility for funding the Illinois Family Care program that provides health insurance to low-income families. The proposal increases eligibility from 133 percent of federal poverty ($25, 071 for a family of 4) to 185 percent of federal poverty ($34,873 for a family of four).

As always, CCI will attempt to support any legislation that we believe will serve the common good of our state and its citizens. However, these areas will have our priority in the coming year because we believe they are part of our mandate to serve the least among us and to give a voice for the voiceless.