Thirty years ago, Thomas Sowell wrote a book entitled The Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy. Sowell argues that a significant portion of our intellectual and political elite have a self-assured “vision” in which they possess superior knowledge, intellect, and morality in comparison to the people over whom they rule.
It’s safe to say this book describes the Democratic Party elites and Republican quislings who rule Illinois with their vision to bring salvation through abortion, marijuana, prostitution, suicide, regulation of homeschooling, and now mandating that all school districts offer mental health screenings annually to students in grades three through 12.
This last part of our elite politicians’ vision is known as SB 1560. There are three aspects to this legislation:
1] The Department of Human Services (DHS) in coordination with hospitals must create and offer voluntary training for hospital staff on how to access and utilize the BEACON portal.
2] It mandates that psychiatric hospitals contact a youth or their parents/guardians about the BEACON portal before referring the youth to the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) if a youth remains in the hospital beyond medical necessity.
3] Starting with the 2027-2028 school year, all school districts must provide mental health screening to all students in grades 3-12, provided a free state-procured tool is available.
Democrats are not alone in seeking to inflict their anointed vision on Illinois as this bill passed the Illinois Senate by a vote of 52-0. There are 40 Democrat senators in Illinois and only 19 Republican senators. You can do the math on this.
Why should citizens in our fair state be concerned with this legislation? Here are several questions and concerns:
-Who gets to determine what mental illness is? Why should we trust to define mental illness to those who reject God’s creation of humans as male and female and God’s law for what is proper for sexuality and life?
-What happens when a boy who thinks he is a girl is screened by the school district and this desire is discovered? Will the parents be informed? What if parents do not accept the diagnosis? Do they have any recourse? And will those who determine what mental illness is also concur with current school curriculum that teaches LGBTQ ideology and sex-ed to children in kindergarten? What do you think?
-Let’s say a young woman in school becomes pregnant out of wedlock. Certainly, this is going to affect her. What would government officials diagnose in terms of her “mental illness” and what would the solution be? I think you know well the answer would almost certainly be abortion! Her parents would not even have to be informed thanks to the removal of Parental Notification.
-Who has access to the BEACON data and how is it shared?
-What happens with a child who refuses to be screened for mental health?
-Do parents have the authority over whether their children are screened or not?
-What is this legislation going to cost taxpayers in Illinois?
We do not need state officials taking over this aspect of life for nearly 1.5 million students (3rd -12th grade) in Illinois. This bill must be defeated, not modified or amended to make it more acceptable.
SB 1560 is scheduled for a hearing in the Illinois House Mental Health and Addiction Committee on Thursday, May 1 at 10 a.m. Please take action today! Time is running out.
Take ACTION: Click HERE to urge your state representative to vote NO to the SB 1560 mandate. Let your lawmaker know that you object to our government screening students in order to “help” them align with their dubious notions of “mental health.” We have many good reasons to be suspicious that the “professional” values of the government would not align with Christian family values. Thank you for expressing your strong but respectful opposition to this legislation!
THANK YOU!
