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Illinois Catholic dioceses today issued statements in response to state Attorney General Lisa Madigan's preliminary report of her investigation into clergy sexual abuse against minors. The report and accompanying press release may be read here. The report finds that the six Catholic dioceses in Illinois have received allegations against approximately 690 clergy members, while 185 clergy have been publicized as having credible allegations of abuse. The report also states that ...

Dec. 17, 2018 show Ryan Bomberger, co-founder of the Radiance Foundation, joins Bob to talk about the March for Life Chicago in January at which he will serve as the keynote speaker. Ryan's biological mother was raped but  followed through on her pregnancy, giving up Ryan for adoption when he was six weeks old. The Radiance Foundation seeks to affirm that every life has purpose and is known for its various billboard campaigns celebrating adoption, unplanned pregnancies and fatherhood. ...

Nov. 19, 2018 show This fall marks the first semester for new students attending Catholic or other private schools on the Tax Credit Scholarship program signed into law just over a year ago. We hear about the impact from Jon Priest, assistant principal of Our Lady of Charity School in Cicero, and parent Laura Garcia. Next, Glenn Van Cura, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Joliet, talks about the re-entry house the organization will open in the spring for former ...

The Illinois political landscape changed dramatically with yesterday's general election, as Democrat J.B. Pritzker will take office as governor in January. Perhaps just as important, however, will be the huge influx of new faces to the legislature due to a vast retirement of lawmakers whose seats were often won by Democrats. The so-called “blue wave” washed over the Illinois General Assembly yesterday, as both the House and Senate will each have more than ...

The six Catholic dioceses of Illinois issued the following statements regarding a lawsuit filed today by attorneys Jeff Anderson and Marc Pearlman on behalf of alleged sexual abuse victim-survivors from some Illinois dioceses. The Catholic Conference of Illinois was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. We have no comment and refer questions to the respective dioceses. Archdiocese of Chicago statement may be found here. Diocese of Rockford statement

Oct. 15, 2018 show Manya Brachear, religion reporter for the Chicago Tribune, joins Bob to talk about her career covering the Catholic Church in Chicago as she moves to the East Coast. Next, Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life Action League, talks about the new Carafem abortion clinic that has opened in Skokie and is known for its bold advertising of abortion. Then, Ryan Gruenenfelder, director of advocacy and outreach for AARP Illinois, discusses the organization's recent ...

Sept. 17, 2018 show Matt Dietrich, spokesman for the Illinois State Board of Elections, joins Bob to talk about the upcoming November general election in light of the hacking two years ago of the agency's database. Then, Anthony Granado with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office of Domestic Social Development talks about the status of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps, as lawmakers debate whether to increase current work requirements and tighten ...

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan today announced in a press release that she would contact all of the Catholic dioceses in the state as a follow-up to the release this week of the Pennsylvania grand jury report outlining sexual abuse allegations against more than 300 priests in that state over 70 years and affecting more than 1,000 victims. "The Catholic Church has a moral obligation to provide its parishioners and the public a complete and accurate accounting of ...

Aug. 20, 2018 show Rob Griffin, associate director of research at the Washington, D.C.-based Public Religion Research Institute, joins Bob to talk about recent results of a public opinion poll indicating the tide may be turning slightly in favor of religious freedom.Then, Fr. Charles Bouchard, Senior Director of Theology and Ethics at the Catholic Health Association, joins Bob to talk about the recent New York Times article for which he was interviewed in which Catholic health care was ...

Less than a week after a Pennsylvania grand jury issued a report outlining a litany of sex abuse allegations against priests during the past 70 years, Pope Francis today released a letter in response, writing, "we showed no care for the little ones; we abandoned them." In the letter that is translated into multiple languages on the Vatican's website, Pope Francis writes, "With shame and repentance, we acknowledge as an ecclesial community that we were not where we ...