CCI April Education Newsletter
Click here for a PDF version of the April  Education newsletter.


CCIR-IL Statewide Network Newsletter
Click here for the April Immigration newsletter.

 HB 2747 - Access to Religious Ministry Act
HB 2747, the Access to Religious Ministry Act, will help ensure that clergy and religious workers can provide religious ministry to immigrants being detained in certain Illinois county jails.  CCI is supportive of this legislation. 

For a fact sheet on HB 2747, click here.

For an action alert on HB 2747, click here.

For an action alert on HB 2747 in Spanish, click here.

  CCI Statement on House Bill 4623
House Bill 4623 proposes to provide greater access to original birth certificates for adult adopted persons.  Click here for the CCI statement on this legislation

 CCI Opposes New Abortion Rights, Comprehensive Sex Ed Bill
House Bill 5615 represents a RADICAL & UNPRECEDENTED departure from current Illinois law regarding abortion, public funding of abortion, health care right of conscience, and comprehensive sex education.

In the Illinois General Assembly, Representatives Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago) and Rosemary Mulligan (R-Des Plaines) have recently introduced House Bill 5615, known as the Reproductive and Justice Access Act.   We must push back.  Please use the analysis, flyer and bulletin insert below to understand this terrible legislation and fight against it.

Click here for short outline of HB 5615.

Click here for flyer.

Click here for bulletin insert.

 School Safety Block Grant Application and User's Guide
The Nonpublic School Attendance System (for applying for the School Safety Block Grant) is now up and running on the IWAS system for state recognized nonpublic schools.  On IWAS, the attendance system will include a User's Guide (with Frequently Asked Questions section) that should be very helpful to you.  The User's Guide is also linked to below.  You will have until March 17, 2008 to submit your attendance data through this system.

A couple of points to make this easier:

-- Remember for the March 17, 2008 deadline you are submitting attendance data for the 2006-07 school year (last year)!

-- The system allows for someone other than the school administrator to input the data, but the school administrator must approve the document before it is submitted to ISBE.

-- The bulk of the system does not ask you to input enrollment data -- instead, it asks you for attendance data by month!

-- There are specific rules for calculating attendance; please closely review the Users Guide to learn how.  By the way, we have talked with ISBE about how since nonpublic schools have never been asked to do this before, some of our attendance data for last year may not be exact.  ISBE understands, do your best now and in future years make sure you keep appropriate attendance records.

-- The information you enter into the system will be auditable.  ISBE will compare your figures with the enrollment and other data you submit in the annual Nonpublic School Registration Form, as well as perhaps state recognition visits, so please make sure you are accurate.

In the Attendance System and Users Guide there is contact information for ISBE staff if you need help.  Also feel free to call me.

Click here for link to User's Guide.

Click here for possible expenditures of the grant money. 


CCI Co-Sponsors School Choice Survey of Illinois Voters
CCI co-sponsored a scientifically representative poll of 1,500 likely Illinois voters, with the Friedman Foundation, Illinois Policy Institute and others, to measure public opinion on K-12 education issues, and in particular, school choice in the form of school vouchers and tax-credit scholarships.  Given the freedom of access and the empowerment to choose schools, most adults in Illinois value having a range of school options for their children.  Desirable options include a K-12 universe spanning private schools, charter schools, virtual schools, home-schooling, and regular public schools.  The leaders of teachers' unions and school boards often say that the public will not support school vouchers.  But in Illinois, one of the most union friendly states, this poll finds voters are open to a school voucher system.  

The survey, conducted November 9 to 11, 2007, by Strategic Vision, LLC, has a margin of error smaller than plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

For full results, click here.
 
 CCI Files Amicus Brief on Behalf of Provena
The Catholic Conference of Illinois, along with the Illinois Catholic Health Association and the Catholic Health Association-USA, recently filed a brief of amicus curiae on behalf of Provena Medical Center and Provena Hospitals.  The amicus brief was filed in support of Provena's appeal to the Circuit Court of Sangamon County of the Illinois Department of Revenue's revocation of Provena's state property tax exemption.  The amicus brief discusses how nonprofit hospitals help relieve significant burdens of the government in caring for the sick and the poor and how the revocation of the property tax exemption will increase costs and could jeopardize access to critical health care.  The imposition of a property tax on nonprofit hospitals is not the answer to the state's health care crisis.  The amicus brief also discusses the important fact that Catholic hospitals, such as Provena, are inherently charitable because they are religious institutions devoted to healing the sick and caring for the poor.  If you are interested in seeing the full text of the amicus brief, please contact our office at (312) 368-1066.


CCI Releases "Guidelines on Political Activities for Parishes and Catholic Church Organizations." - December 20, 2007
As tax-exempt organizations, parishes and Catholic Church organizations are prohibited from participating in partisan political activities.  However, there are some activities in which you can participate.  The Catholic Conference of Illinois has published a brochure, "Guidelines on Political Activities for Parishes and Catholic Church Organizations," which sets out some general guidelines to follow if you wish to participate in these activities.

For a PDF version of the brochure, please click here.

For further information on Political Activity Guidelines, please visit the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops at:  http//www.usccb.org/ogc/guidelines.shtml

If you would like a hard copy of this publication, you may call either of our offices at 312-368-1066 or 217-528-9200.     

In addition to these documents, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has released a new statement called Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship:  A Call to Political Responsibility.
 
Click here to read the statement in Word format.
Click here to read the statement in PDF format.
Click here to read CCI's letter to pastors.
Click here for Tips for Talking to Your Legislator.