Feb 17, 2021
Gov. J.B. Pritzker today unveiled his budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year that begins July 1, proposing a cut to the Tax Credit Scholarship program that allows low-income and working-class students to receive scholarships to Catholic and other nonpublic schools. The Catholic Conference today issued a statement in response to Pritzker's proposal.
Feb 17, 2020
Executive Director Bob Gilligan speaks with Bishop Malloy of Rockford; discusses the possible impact of a U.S. Supreme Court case on tax credit scholarships; and gets an update on Illinois' tax credit scholarship program.
Jun 17, 2019
Executive Director Bob Gilligan discusses the complete funding of the Tax Credit Scholarship program in the FY 2020 budget with Juan Rangel of Empower Illinois; human trafficking with Pat Winn, who heads up Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rockford; and the final version of the "Reproductive Health Act" with Ralph Rivera of Illinois Right to Life.
Jun 4, 2019
In the final days of the 2019 legislative session, Illinois lawmakers approved legislation making abortion a fundamental right, legalizing marijuana for recreational use, switching the state's income tax from a flat rate to a graduated rate and to be put before voters in November 2020, expanding gambling with up to six new casinos that include a site in Chicago, legalizing sports betting, doubling the gas tax, hiking annual license plate fees by 50 percent, and increasing cigarette taxes by a dollar a pack. Earlier in the year, legislators OK'd a measure to increase the state's minimum wage to $15 by 2025.
Jan 21, 2019
Host and Executive Director Bob Gilligan welcomes Alex Berenson, author of “Tell Your Children: The Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence;" Anthony Holder of Empower Illinois on Year 2 of the Tax Credit Scholarship program; Kevin Appleby of the Center for Migration Studies on the status of immigrants and refugees at the Mexican border; and recently retired state Rep. Jeanne ives on her tenure in the Illinois Legislature.
