We have received feedback questioning the accuracy of the information found on page 15 of this year’s IFI Voter Guide. Apparently, the unvarnished truth—printed in black and white—is offensive to some. Our goal is not to provoke for the sake of it, but to ensure citizens understand that electoral apathy has consequences. We pray this serves as a wake-up call to those who mistakenly believe their vote doesn’t matter.

The section in question simply documents the inevitable fruits of diminished Christian involvement in our culture—including a pervasive apathy toward the electoral process. So, we listed the consequences of ignoring our civic duty to vote, citing the sad stat that only 22.81 percent of registered voters cast a ballot in the primary election earlier this year. Here is that same list with links to confirm our case:

√ Highest taxes in the nation.
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/no-2-no-more-illinois-property-taxes-rank-highest-in-u-s/
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/new-data-illinois-homeowners-pay-countrys-highest-property-taxes/
https://lakecountyappeal.com/node/799077
https://www.bnd.com/news/politics-government/article315264836.html

√ Free services for noncitizens. Click Here.
HB 1637 made Illinois a sanctuary state in 2019. Lawmakers the door to a safe haven for free services for noncitizens. The following are not a complete list.
HB 4343, Senate Amendment 3, became law in 2022. The law provides medical services to noncitizens 42 years of age through 54 years of age.
HB 3247, House Floor Amendment 3, became law in 2025. It provides free tuition through secondary education for noncitizens.
HB 3279 & SB 1846 (which are pending in Springfield) provide free abortion services for noncitizens with your tax dollars.
SB 2065 (which is pending in Springfield) prohibits schools from revealing immigration status to immigration authorities.
And were you aware that noncitizens can be police officers since 2023?

√ Gasoline tax increase every July 1st.
SB 1939, House Floor Amendment 2, became law in 2019. Now you know why gasoline is higher in Illinois than surrounding states.

√ Graphic LGBT sex-ed in K-12 in public schools.
SB 818 became law in 2021. It requires schools to teach sex education starting in kindergarten and for curriculum to align with the National Sex Education Standards which were developed by SEICUS (founded by Planned Parenthood Medical Director, Mary Calderone), Advocates for Youth (home of the Great Condom Campaign; Abortion Out Loud; advocates for LGBTQ, abortion, early sexual activity, and more sex in TV programs and movies) and others.

√ Third grade mental health screening by LGBTQ “professionals.”
SB 1560 was signed into law by Gov. Pritzker in July 2025, requiring schools to screen for mental health starting in third grade. HB 4714, signed into law in July 2026, requires those involved to “reflect a diversity of sexual orientation.” There were many other bills to put this all in place.

√ Non-citizens can become police officers.
HB 3751 became law in 2023.

√ Tampons in boys school bathrooms.
HB 156 became law in 2021.

√ Voting rights for incarcerated felons.
SB 2090 became law in 2019.

√ Keeping sexually objectionable books in school and public libraries.
Referring to restricting objectionable books from children as “book banning,” HB 2789 became law in 2023.

√ 13-yr-olds can get abortions without parents knowing.
HB 370 repealed the Parental Notification Law in 2021.

√ 13-yr-olds can get contraceptives without parents knowing.
SB 3341 was signed into law in July 2026.

√ Physician-assisted suicide by lethal drugs.
SB 1950, House Floor Amendment 2, was signed into law in December 2025.

√ Mandated insurance coverage for Pap tests for men and prostate exams for women.
HB 2350 became law in 2023.

√ Unrestricted abortion up until birth.
SB 25 became law in 2019. It removed ALL restrictions on abortion.

What are we teaching our children and grandchildren about what is good, right, and true? What legacy are we leaving for them to dig their way out from under?

When good people do nothing, evil triumphs. Sin abounds. Families fall apart and society crumbles. James 4:17 is clear that the failure to act is sin:

“So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, for him it is sin.”

This is why Illinois Family Institute has been sounding the alarm to encourage Christians to become involved in our culture for over 34 years. We have seen an increasing decline in the values and morality that were once held sacred.

Let us assure you that what is listed above is a drop in the bucket. Illinois is a mess, and keeping your Christian influence to yourself while staying home on Election Day ensures that it will continue to get worse. Francis Schaeffer stated:

There is a thinkable and an unthinkable in every era. One era is quite certain intellectually and emotionally about what is acceptable. Yet another era decides that these “certainties” are unacceptable and puts another set of values into practice. On a humanistic base people drift along from generation to generation, and the morally unthinkable becomes the thinkable as the years move on….

The thinkables of the eighties and nineties will certainly include things which most people today find unthinkable and immoral, even unimaginable and too extreme to suggest. Yet—since they do not have some overriding principle that takes them beyond relativistic thinking—when these become thinkable and acceptable in the eighties and nineties, most people will not even remember that they were unthinkable in the seventies. They will slide into each new thinkable without a jolt.

(Schaeffer, Francis A. And C. Everett Koop, M.D. Whatever Happened to the Human Race? Old Tappan: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1979. 16.)

Those of us with more than a few decades of life experience have seen it firsthand: the unthinkable has not only become the thinkable, but has become the accepted, and finally, the celebrated! Shockingly, this cycle repeats itself as our society drifts away from God and disintegrates. Christians cannot be apathetic. The command to love our neighbors as ourselves is identified by Jesus as the second great commandment. (Matthew 22:39 and Mark 12:31)

America does not have to continue down this horror-filled road. It is up to us to act and to do what is right. It is up to us to encourage others, to stir them up to love and good works. (Hebrews 10:24) And since this is primarily a spiritual battle, it is up to us to pray fervently and frequently.