Press Release

Illinois' six Catholic bishops today issued a statement urging the Illinois Senate to reject the "Reproductive Health Act." The extreme measure that overhauls the state's abortion laws passed the Illinois House yesterday, and is due to go before the Illinois Senate before the end of the legislative session on May 31. Read the statement below, or here in PDF form and

The Illinois House today passed the misnamed "Reproductive Health Act" on a 64-50 vote, with four lawmakers voting "present." The measure overhauls abortion law in Illinois and is now embodied in House Floor Amendment 1 to Senate Bill 25. The vote tally is here. The legislation now goes to the ...

It is truly tragic the Senate Public Health Committee today approved Senate Bill 1594, which seeks to repeal the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act. Since this law went into effect, the incidence of abortions among minors has dropped 57 percent in Illinois. Why would anybody vote for legislation that effectively removes parents and guardians of minors from a major decision that is known to have significant physical and mental after effects?

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 ...

Gov. Bruce Rauner today called for the reinstatement of the death penalty for individuals convicted of mass shootings or the fatal shooting of a police officer. His call came in his written amendatory veto of House Bill 1468, which requires a 72-hour waiting period before the purchase of an assault weapon. The governor introduces a new burden of proof -- "beyond all doubt" -- as opposed to the current "beyond a reasonable doubt" -- for those individuals charged with ...

Gov. Bruce Rauner today announced that he would sign House Bill 40, which authorizes the use of taxpayer monies to pay for elective abortions for Medicaid participants and state employees. He had earlier pledged to veto the bill. The Catholic Conference of Illinois today released the following statement. Click here for a PDF. We are deeply disturbed that Governor Rauner has broken his word and firm public promise to veto HB 40.  Governor Rauner, together with the legislators who voted for ...

The Illinois Senate today passed Senate Bill 1947, following up on the House's approval yesterday of the landmark legislation that overhauls the state's education funding formula and introduces a five-year Scholarship Tax Credit program. The governor is expected to sign the legislation. Here is the House roll call, and the Senate roll call. A fact sheet on the basics of the Scholarship Tax Credit can be found here. A detailed analysis ...

The Illinois Senate today approved House Bill 40 on a vote of 33-22. You can view the vote count here. This legislation allows public money to be used to pay for elective abortions for Medicaid participants and state employees. CCI issued the following statement after final passage of HB 40. Click here for a PDF version.   Statement on Illinois Senate passage of HB 40, taxpayer funding of abortion We are dismayed the Illinois Senate followed the ...

The head of the public policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops today lamented Illinois House passage of legislation authorizing the use of taxpayer money to pay for elective abortions for Medicaid recipients and state employees. Robert Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois, criticized lawmakers for turning a moral argument into campaign fodder. “Elected representatives today chose raw politics over the innocent lives of the unborn,” Gilligan said. Today’s passage of House Bill 40 denoted the culmination of a legislative ...

The Catholic Conference of Illinois today congratulates Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago, who serves as the chairman of our board, on his elevation to cardinal by Pope Francis. We are grateful for and look forward to his continued leadership. #### The Catholic Conference of Illinois was created in 1969 to serve as the public policy voice of the Illinois bishops and the six dioceses of the state: Belleville, Chicago, Joliet, Peoria, Rockford and Springfield-in-Illinois.