Illinois
Truancy Charges Averted
A Chicago-area family recently received a letter from Suburban Cook County Attendance Officer Robert Wilk. The letter stated in part:
It has been brought to my attention that your son . . . is not attending school. . . . [your son] has been seen out in the area of your home during regular school hours. . . . If you can get [him] in school immediately we can avoid court action. [Your son’s] education is very important and he must be in school immediately!
We will never know whether the person (probably a neighbor) who complained to the attendance officer was simply ignorant of the fact that the family home schooled, or if he actually intended to cause them trouble.
When the family forwarded this threatening letter to Home School Legal Defense Association, attorney Scott Woodruff explained in a letter to the attendance officer that the family was lawfully home schooling and that the parents were well within their rights to allow their son to spend time outside the house during “regular” school hours. In response to attorney Woodruff’s letter, the attendance officer dropped the matter.
Illinois Becomes Fifth State to Pass RFRA
On December 3, the Illinois Senate nearly unanimously overrode Republican Governor Jim Edgar’s veto of the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act with 55 “yes” votes, 0 “no” votes, and 2 “present” votes. Since the house overrode the veto two weeks ago, this senate vote makes the Illinois RFRA now law.
This new law essentially renders ineffective, for Illinois citizens, the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 1997 City of Boerne decision which reduced religious freedom to a “garden variety” right about equal in weight to our right to drive a car. Under the newly passed Illinois RFRA, religious freedom in the Prairie State is restored to its proper status as a fundamental right, thereby receiving a high level of protection.
Home School Legal Defense Association thanks all the home schoolers who responded to our alerts and flooded the state legislature with calls supporting the RFRA. Special appreciation is due to Fran Eaton and Christian Home Educators Coalition of Illinois for their tireless efforts on behalf of this important measure. And, above all, praise belongs to God for graciously bringing about this victory.
With passage of the RFRA, Illinois joins four other states—Alabama, Florida, Rhode Island, and Connecticut—that have boldly started on the path back to true religious liberty by passing a religious freedom act or amendment. HSLDA is working with home schoolers and legislators in other states across the country to pass similar legislation.
|
|
Illinois
Lincoln, Illinois, was the only town named for Abraham Lincoln during his lifetime. Invited to dedicate the town, he christened it with watermelon juice and provided watermelon for the crowd.
|
|
