* SJ-R…
Awake Illinois, a right-leaning political organization focused on education, is attracting some candidates for office in Illinois to sign a pledge promising support for, among other things, school choice, requiring schools to provide parents with annual reports about schools’ curriculum and prohibiting schools from teaching about consent, sexual orientation or gender identity.
“Not only do we stand beside you completely, I look forward to working with you once elected as governor to work to begin to rescind the nonsense,” said gubernatorial candidate state Sen. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, at a virtual event hosted by Awake Illinois on Sunday. […]
“Our way of life is under attack,” said Bailey in that virtual event with the group’s president and founder, Shannon Adcock. […]
Illinois allows parents to opt their students out of sexual health education classes, according to [Brigid Leahy, vice president of public policy at Planned Parenthood Illinois Action]. In addition to the opt-out, SB 818 also requires that schools provide parents with an opportunity to review the sex education curriculum to be used at their children’s schools.
* The prohibition against teaching “inaccurate and false history” is kind of a tell…
Nice bit about lawyer fees, too. Tom DeVore has also signed on. Click the pic for a better view.
Thoughts?
- Arsenal - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 12:55 pm:
==prohibiting schools from teaching about consent==
Well *that’s* chilling.
- TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 12:57 pm:
“prohibiting schools from teaching about consent”
I just can’t anymore with these people.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 12:59 pm:
Abortion ain’t gonna be a thing this election.
Nope. Not a thing. Won’t matter.
Let’s talk about crime, amirite?
- Roadrager - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 12:59 pm:
Calling Awake Illinois “focused on education” is like calling anti-abortion protesters “focused on women’s health.”
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 1:01 pm:
Judicial Committee on Administrative Rules?
I stopped reading after that.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 1:02 pm:
To the rest, I mean the issues;
=== Illinois to sign a pledge promising support for, among other things, school choice, requiring schools to provide parents with annual reports about schools’ curriculum and prohibiting schools from teaching about consent, sexual orientation or gender identity.===
Wishing Illinois is Mississippi isn’t a strategy here.
Bailey will sink the ILGOP in a way that the rest of the country will be flabbergasted… it’ll be like the Red Wave is a drought
- Galway Bay - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 1:02 pm:
Step one is win the primary. Does this impinge his ability to do that? Probably not. In that context it makes sense.
- dan l - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 1:03 pm:
“Awake Illinois, a right-leaning political organization ”
…….who’s views closely align with those of the SPLC recognized hate organization, as the Illinois Family Institute……
It’s cute the way media orgs will legitimize such groups as merely ‘right leaning’ and not as extremist organizations.
- Nick - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 1:03 pm:
These people are a menace
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 1:05 pm:
===Well *that’s* chilling===
Worse than that. Who benefits most when kids have no idea what consent means?
- TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 1:06 pm:
What’s most concerning about the prohibition on consent thing is that it is a way to protect abusers. If a child doesn’t know an adult is abusing them, they won’t tell anyone. The abuser is safe.
It’s going to be a chore, but I’m going to start keeping track of their membership. Tom Mccullogh was a huge supporter of the awake group, and he dropped out of his state senate race just a few weeks ago over some rather serious grooming allegations.
- C'mon people! - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 1:06 pm:
If people want this much input, why don’t you just home-school your children? Constantly taking things too far.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 1:07 pm:
===Who benefits most when kids have no idea what consent means?===
There was a real reason that children were/are(?) taught “no means no”
It’s also a harsh and terrifying reminder about how children are questioned about what happened to them and by whom.
It makes me ill.
- Johnnie F. - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 1:09 pm:
These same sex-ed worried parents send their children to school with a cell phone allowing 24/7 access to internet porn. Also, most parents have a say in all this through elected school boards…you know, local control.
- Arsenal - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 1:18 pm:
==Who benefits most when kids have no idea what consent means? ==
Is it the same people who benefit the most when the word “Groomer” loses all meaning?
- City Guy - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 1:25 pm:
One irony is they say they will not allow teaching inaccurate and false history, but that is exactly what they want to do.
- A Guy in Illinois - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 1:29 pm:
“With two years of failed pandemic policies, an abysmal state schools report card,
classroom activism/socialism replacing academics…” I was wondering why my HS daughter suddenly started talking about the plight of the working class and the need to take the means of production away from the capitalists. Thank God for Awake Illinois. /s
- Norseman - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 1:29 pm:
These people don’t want education, they want supplicants to their religious and political beliefs. Education is a danger to them because it teaches kids to use facts and reason. Tools that enable kids to question the phony basis for the views of radicals and understand the destructive hate that is being preached to them.
This is variation of the old saying, “ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies.” Poorly educated children will not understand the questions that need to be asked to identify the lies.
- Obamas Puppy - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 1:29 pm:
“Our way of life” has always fascinated me. Who is “our”? Rural, underfunded, predominantly white under educated parts of the state? The arrogance of that statement basically admits that they want to inflict thier way of life on the rest of us and refuse to recognize that there might be things going on that werent when they were in school. Its neanderthal in the state of mind to make such a stupid statement.
- Montrose - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 1:29 pm:
“Our way of life is under attack,”
A) It’s not.
B) Your way of life is focused on demonize anyone with a different way of life. Not a great look.
- SWIL_Voter - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 1:33 pm:
These people are dangerous lunatics who shouldn’t be allowed near children, let alone presume to speak in defense of them.
- Steve Polite - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 1:36 pm:
The consent part jumped out at me too.
Some others with my translations:
Prohibit State agencies from intimidating, threatening, or coercing locally elected officials. “We don’t want our local government officials to be forced to obey state laws.”
Require Illinois public schools to obtain parental consent to all medical and healthcare services or procedures. “We don’t want schools providing emergency medical treatment until they’ve contacted a parent and received permission.”
Prohibit Illinois public schools from teaching inaccurate and false history in classrooms. (I read this as a dog whistle.) “We will allow the teaching of the history of slavery and racism in the U.S., but only if it doesn’t make white students feel uncomfortable.”
What a load of garbage.
- Amalia - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 1:38 pm:
terrifying.
- Ducky LaMoore - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 1:41 pm:
““Our way of life is under attack,”
When your way of life is book-burning and overthrowing the government, I would be thrilled if it were under attack.
- Club J - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 1:46 pm:
I’ve read enough about this Shannon Adcock on Twitter over the last two days from folks I follow that live in Naperville. She couldn’t get on the School Board so now this is her way of attacking what she doesn’t like. Plus she’s a “huge” DeVore supporter. She was his guest at the Sangamon County Republicans shindig the other night. The one he’s trying to get a refund of his entry fee for. Awake IL are bullies that parade around like caring parents when their agenda is nothing shy of hurting those who oppose them.
- MrMisery - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 1:54 pm:
The same group that was having a fit about schools going virtual had a virtual event?
- Sir Reel - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 2:11 pm:
I’m glad someone is tackling this and similar problems. No need to worry about climate change, war in Ukraine, income inequality, etc, etc. Gotta focus on the important stuff.s/
- wildcat12 - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 2:25 pm:
One of the prohibitions is against teachers discussing “staff sexuality.” So I suppose heterosexual teachers will also no longer be allowed to mention that they’re married or have children? Pregnant women will no longer be allowed to teach? Surely that’s what he means, right? Couldn’t possibly be that he’s specifically targeting same-sex couples.
- JS Mill - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 2:29 pm:
=classroom activism/socialism replacing academics=
If we don’t teach that stuff, how will you learn how to be a farmer in Illinois?
I kid…sort of. Right Darrin?
ALso, this is how the minority attempts to impose their will when they don’t ever have the numbers and know they never will.
- Rudy’s teeth - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 3:19 pm:
Under Read the Proposal…someone wrote eduction instead of education.
Proofread, anyone.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 3:56 pm:
I am so old I remember when most Republicans publicly opposed pedophilia.
It was 2013, when nearly all Republicans voted in favor of Erin’s Law, which extended sexual abuse education and prevention to pre-K and that included obviously teaching kids about consent.
I mean sure, Rep. Morrison voted against it, but a Republican sponsored the Bill on the House and most Republicans were on board. Even Darlene Senger was a yes.
Illinois became the first state in the country to pass sweeping sex abuse prevention efforts, and thanks to Erin Merryn of Schaumburg and her courage, 36 states have followed us.
I would have a field day with these yahoos.
It would be great is someone could fund survivor organizations to pay their own membership to go out and knock on doors in the suburbs all weekend every weekend and talk to folks about why Republican efforts to undo Erin’s Law are so dangerous, and I’d put erin on cable ads with a toll free number to a patch people through to their legislator to tell them to stop child abuse and protect Erin’s Law and consent education, just to reinforce the message at the door.
- Manchester - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 4:04 pm:
Saying what I actually think about Darren Bailey and his adoption of this ultra right wing white Christian nationalist drivel would result in my permanent ban from Capitol Fax.
- Jibba - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 5:06 pm:
The purpose of taxes used for education is to support a system of public schools that anyone can attend, not to educate anyone’s specific child.
It ain’t your money.
- FormerParatrooper - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 5:13 pm:
The consent issue stood out to me as well. I can’t use the exact phase that comes to mind but it begins whiskey tango.
I don’t know wha context they could use to defend that. There is none as a parent or grandparent I could ever think it was right.
- MyTwoCents - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 5:21 pm:
Wait, I thought the Dems were pro-pedophilia? Isn’t that what the Ketanji Brown-Jackson hearings taught us? Now the GOP wants to make it easier for grooming? I’m so confused. /s I mock because that’s the only reaction that keeps me sane in dealing with today’s GOP.
- sladay - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 6:07 pm:
Ban the teaching of consent…that right there. My god.
- Name Whitheld By Request - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 6:31 pm:
Shannon Adcock, the founder of Awake Illinois, is a fervent anti-masker, who ran and lost a race for D204 School Board. After losing she started Awake as an effort to attract support for her views and has been fairly successful. With the mask issue waning, she has turned her ire to CRT and diversity/equality initiatives.
As she has attempted to grow Awake she has attacked teachers as pedophiles and groomers, The DuPage Children’s Museum as Anti-child, The U of I as a communist institution, Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico and Councilman Benny White as fascists, and is openly hostile to LGBTQ people and groups. I could go on.
The humorous? confusing? part is the same Mayor recently considered adding Ms. Adcock to the city’s SECA Board that doles out roughly a million dollars a year to local charitable and service organizations, including many that she has spoken out against. Her nomination is listed as under consideration and both pro and anti-nomination sides are hard at work pushing their views.
- Love is Better than This - Thursday, Apr 28, 22 @ 10:11 pm:
Let’s edit this to be truthful: Awake Illinois, an extreme-right political organization focused on defunding public education, is attracting extreme right Christian Nationalist candidates for office in Illinois to sign a pledge promising support for, among other things, school choice, requiring schools to provide parents with annual reports about schools’ curriculum and prohibiting schools from teaching about consent, sexual orientation or gender identity.
“Not only do we stand beside you completely, I look forward to working with you to begin to rescind the the rights kids to say, “no, don’t touch me like that,” the right to be who you are, love who you love, because I don’t like the existence of LGBTQ people or the right of less powerful people to say no,” said gubernatorial candidate state Sen. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, at a virtual event hosted by Awake Illinois on Sunday. […]
“Our way of life is under attack,” said Bailey in that virtual event with the group’s president and founder, Shannon Adcock. And that way of life is where Christian “values” are forced on everyone else, and alignment with Illinois Family Institute (on SPLC’s hate watch list) is our goal.