Every active Illinois Republican senator has signed on to sponsor a bill that would amend the civil unions act to allow religious foster care agencies to reject civil union couples.
The Civil Rights Agenda announced the finding in a press release.
"We are horrified to learn that every active Republican Senator has signed on to this legislation," stated Anthony Martinez, executive director of The Civil Rights Agenda, in a press statement. "As a non-partisan organization, it becomes increasingly difficult to appeal to Republican ideals when the party is seemingly hostile towards the LGBT community. This is a hollow political move that could have dire consequences for LGBT people."
Senate bill 2495 was introduced in mid-October. LGBT advocates had believed that the bill would fail to pick up steam as at least three similar bills were defeated in the senate last session.
The bill's synopsis states that "child welfare agency that is religiously based or owned by, operated by, or affiliated with a bona fide religious organization may decline an adoption or foster family home application, including any related licensure and placement, from a party to a civil union if acceptance of that application would constitute a violation of the organization's sincerely held religious beliefs…"
It also mandates that agencies that turn away applicants based on religious belief refer them to another agency.
The bill comes after months of court dispute between the state and a handful of Catholic charities that previously held foster care contracts with the Department of Child and Family Services. The charities lost those contracts with the advent of civil unions in June because they refused to place children with civil union couples and single people.
The charities lost a suit against the state for the contracts earlier this year.
Sen. Kyle McCarter, who introduced the bill, said he simply wants to clarify the intention of the Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act, which he believes was drafted with provisions for religious institutions.
"The courts and the governor have ignored the intention of the law," he told Windy City Times. "If anyone has been discriminated against it is institutions of faith."
McCarter, who said he "has no bad feelings at all towards people who choose a different lifestyle" than his, said he voted against the civil union bill because he believes that marriage is between a man and a woman and that children are best raised by a mother and a father.
Senator Heather Steans said that the bill is a political statement, not an actual possibility.
"I don't think there's been much a chance at all of this going anywhere," Steans said. "People think it's a good campaign issue, so they just want to keep bringing it up."
Activist Rick Garcia, who was instrumental in getting the civil union bill passed, said that he feels the controversy has little to do with a clash in values and everything to do with the millions that were lost when charities were refused contract renewals.
"This is big business for catholic charities," Garcia said. "If you want state money, abide by state law."
Garcia criticized Senate republicans for trying to amend a bill they largely voted against.
"Supporters of this have animosity towards gay people," he said. "I don't care what they say."
But whether such an amendment would even result in new contracts for the charities remains to be seen. The charities lost their court case not because the judge determined they were discriminating, but because he said they had no property right to the contracts to begin with. If the state did not want to grant the charities contracts, he said, it was not obligated to do so.
