ILLINOIS -- CALL TO ACTION!!!!

Can't find a way to say it better than the  HSLDA:

"On Wednesday, April 6, the Executive Committee of the Illinois Senate
will hold a hearing on SR 92, a resolution urging all Illinois
government agencies immediately to "comply with the Convention on the
Rights of the Child," and urging the U.S. Senate to ratify it.

We need your help immediately to defeat this resolution!

The U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) gives children
rights which the government can enforce against their
parents--including a right to "leisure" and "play," a right to keep
their parents out of their "private" lives, a right to access
virtually any internet websites they want, a right to choose their own
religion, a right to never be spanked, a right to hang out with whom
they want virtually free from parental interference, and a right to an
education in "tolerance" and "equality of the sexes" in "respect for
the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations."

The CRC gives the government the supreme power to decide in every
single case, for every single family, what is best for every child. If
the U.S. Senate ratifies it, no American parent would ever again have
the final word on what is best for their child.  Every family would be
treated like a family going through divorce, where nothing is truly
final regarding the children unless the judge agrees.

As put with exceptional clarity by Geraldine Van Buren, one of the
world's authorities, under the CRC "there is no longer a traditional
area of exclusive parental or family decision making."

ACTION REQUESTED

1. Please call.  If your own senator is on the committee, call your
own senator.  If your own senator is not on the committee, call the
chairman and vice chairman of the committee (see list below).  Use our
legislative toolbox to find out who your senator is:
http://www.hslda.org/toolbox

2.  Your message can be as simple as "Please vote NO on SR 92. The CRC
turns the time-honored parent-child relationship on its head and makes
the government the final authority in every parental decision.  The
CRC would take away rights ordinary parents have held for centuries
and have immeasurable consequences for our society," (and if you are a
constituent of the senator) "and I live in your district."

3.  Come to the hearing Wednesday to demonstrate your opposition to
the CRC. It will be held at 3:15 p.m. in Room 212 of the Capitol
building in Springfield, Illinois.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Sen. Don Harmon, Chairman
(217) 782-8176

Sen. Ira Silverstein, Vice Chair
(217) 782-5500

Sen. Maggie Crotty
(217) 782-9595

Sen. Kimberly Lightford, bill sponsor
(217) 782-8505

Sen. Jeffrey Schoenberg
(217) 782-2119

Sen. Dale Righter
(217) 782-6674

Sen. John Jones
(217) 782-0471

Sen. Matt Murphy
(217) 782-4471

Sen. James Clayborne, Jr.
(217) 782-5399

Sen. John Cullerton
(217) 782-2728

Sen. Antonion Munoz
(217) 782-9415

Sen. Donne Trotter
(217) 782-3201

Sen. Bill Brady
(217) 782-6216

Sen. David Luechtefeld
(217) 782-8137

Sen. Christine Radogno
(217) 782-9407

BACKGROUND

Why worry about a "mere resolution?" You may be wondering why we
should oppose a state's effort to push ratification of a treaty when
only the U.S. Senate actually has the power to ratify.  There are four
reasons.

1. If a state resolution passes, proponents of the treaty will use it
to pressure the state's U.S. senators to vote to ratify the treaty. 

2. Because of the resolution, the CRC is no longer a "back burner"
issue. It is getting the attention of the legislature, the public and
the media. This gives us an exceptional but brief opportunity to
educate others. It is easiest to educate people when they are
listening--and now they are listening on this issue!

3. If the resolution passes, the public and the legislature will view
the CRC more favorably. If public opinion moves in the direction of
the CRC, it makes it easier for the CRC to eventually be ratified by
the U.S. Senate.

4. The Illinois resolution urges all state agencies NOW to "comply"
with the CRC.  While a resolution is not a "bill" and is not "law" if
it passes, it is a significant statement of public policy. If it
passes, hundreds of state agencies will have the encouragement and
opportunity to take bits and pieces of the CRC and insert them into
their own programs and policies. 

For example, the definitions of "abuse" and "neglect" in Illinois are
quite vague.  If the resolution passes, we can expect to see social
services agencies move in the direction of asserting that any parent
who deprives a child of CRC entitlements is liable for abuse or
neglect.

Please accept the challenge of reading an excellent, well-footnoted
document called, "Twenty Things You Should Know about the CRC"
available at this website: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=10688 . 

HSLDA and Illinois Christian Home Educators (ICHE) are united in
opposing SR 92.

Thank you for standing with us for freedom!"