Illinois legislature finished their spring session May 31

Pro-life advocates in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois and across the state are celebrating their hard work of prayer, calling the offices of state lawmakers, and speaking with state lawmakers after the Illinois General Assembly failed to pass legislation that would have repealed Illinois’ Parental Notification of Abortion law. Lawmakers adjourned May 31 after they wrapped up the spring legislative session.

The law currently requires a parent or legal guardian to be notified when a minor under the age of 18 seeks an abortion (the law now is only for notification, not parental consent). The repeal legislation did not advance at any stage of the legislative process.

Sponsors of the legislation, however, still tried to push the legislation despite the fact that repealing the law would help protect human traffickers while simultaneously harming victims of rape, incest, or other sexual violence. A statewide poll also that found 72 percent of Illinoisans favor parental notice when it comes to minors seeking an abortion even with a majority of the respondents identifying as pro-choice.

Those who support the current law also pointed to other legal and moral rights of parents and legal guardians to care for their children, including:

• Illinois law bans indoor tanning for minors;
• Illinois law bans a minor getting a tattoo or body piercing without parental consent;
• Minors cannot vote, purchase cigarettes, serve in the military, or purchase lottery tickets.

Despite the victory for the unborn, mothers, and families, stay tuned to future legislative sessions as this legislation is bound to come up again.

Meanwhile, Catholic schools saw a major victory at the Statehouse after the legislature not only extended the Illinois Tax Credit Scholarship program by another year to 2023, but also kept the state income tax credit at 75 percent for the program. This, after Gov. J.B. Pritzker proposed a major cut to the tax credit in his budget proposal.

The Illinois Tax Credit Scholarship program allows low-income and working-class students to receive scholarships to Catholic and other nonpublic schools. In the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, there were 481 students in 30 schools who received scholarship money this school year totaling about $1.4 million.

In 2017, Illinois legislators passed the bipartisan Invest in Kids Act which grants a 75 percent state income tax credit to individuals and businesses that contribute to need-based scholarship funds for students to attend private school.

Donations to a school of choice should be made to the school through Empower Illinois (go to empowerillinois.org and click on donate). This page will walk an individual through what he or she must do to make a donation and to ensure he or she receives a 75 precent state income tax credit. Donors need an account on mytax.illinois.gov before applying for a tax credit, and this can take up to 10 days and involves a mailed letter containing your account pin.

For applicants seeking a scholarship for next school year, visit empowerillinois.org.