Illinois has gone 11 months without a fully funded state budget for FY16 and, on May 31, the spring legislative session will likely adjourn without an FY17 budget.

Members of the Illinois General Assembly will have a chance to vote for a proactive long-term solution to the Illinois budget crisis when they go back to Springfield next week.

Current Illinois law prohibits park districts from even considering qualified candidates with certain criminal convictions—regardless of how long ago those offenses occurred, the circumstances surrounding them or any other mitigating information. As a result, deserving and qualified applicants in our communities are unable to access jobs in their own communities.

At the April 12 rally in the rotunda of the Illinois State Capitol, hundreds of faith leaders joined CRS and put their faith into action. We marched, chanted, and prayed outside the Governor’s office demanding a fair budget now! We met with legislators and asked them to: increase job opportunities for people with criminal records; improve police accountability; and enact a fair tax and fair budget that protect the most vulnerable.

Governor Rauner delivered the annual State of the State Address to the members of the Illinois General Assembly on Wednesday, but he ignored the state’s most pressing issue: nearly seven months into FY16, the state of Illinois is still operating without a budget and this crisis is devastating families and communities across the state.

Join us as we demand action from our elected officials to stop police brutality, end violence, enact fair tax reform, and increase job opportunities!

On behalf of Community Renewal Society, I urge you to immediately close the Illinois Department of
Juvenile Justice’s Youth Center at Kewanee.

The State of Illinois is about to enter its fifth month of operating without a budget, while children and families in our state continue to suffer. Illinois is now worst in the nation for access to affordable, quality child care.

We can prevent violence in our communities by investing more in community-based Restorative Justice programs that literally save lives.

"No more public giveaways without benefits for the community," said Angela McClellan. "We need a Community Benefits Agreement because it’s no more business as usual on the West Side."

The Reclaim Campaign will conduct an 8-week Court Watching Project from July 1 to August 25, 2015 to verify that reforms to bond court and pretrial services we won are being implemented.

Isaiah 58:1, 6 and related verses speak to us in the faith community and to people of conscience to "Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voices like a trumpet to let the oppressed go free." 

One of my favorite scripture passages is Psalms is 51, verse 10 that says:  “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

July 1 marked the first day of the new fiscal year in Illinois. With no budget in place, uncertainty and instability reign. As people of faith, we can and should respond in two ways...

We celebrate important victories as we continue to demand a moral budget that protects Illinois’ families and communities by choosing new revenue.

The Illinois General Assembly ended the spring legislative session without resolving Illinois’ FY16 budget crisis. Vital community programs and services face devastating cuts, starting July 1, if additional revenue is not approved.

Participate in a virtual Day of Faith at the Capitol

Tania, a single mother of two children, Carlos (6 years old) and Hugo (8 years old) recently lost her child care. The state program that helps low-income and working families with child care costs is out of money.

“Am I my brother’s keeper?” Cain pondered his responsibility for another human being in front of God. This question, spoken thousands of years ago, is now the question that we, the people of Illinois, must also answer.

Time is running out for the Illinois General Assembly to pass legislation to raise the minimum wage. There are only 3 days left to take this important step.