2014 Illinois 13th District Congressional Voter Guide

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Dwayne Sims
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1 2014 Illinois 13th District Congressional Voter Guide

2 The Candidates Representative Rodney (R), incumbent Judge nn (D), challenger

3 2014 Illinois 13th District Congressional Voter Guide What role would religion play in the candidate s decision making in his or her role as U.S. Representative? Does the candidate support a science based curriculum in public schools and reject the use of public funding of religious schools or religiously-based curriculums? Does the candidate support the use of public funding for religiously-affiliated organizations such as faith-based initiatives, to provide services? Does the candidate support social policies that do not discriminate based on religion, such as marriage equality, and non-discrimination in adoption policies, the military and hiring practices at faith based organizations receiving public funds? Does the candidate believe government sanctioned religious symbolism is appropriate? (Examples including prayer in legislative sessions and public schools, religious symbols on government property.) Does the candidate support scientifically based regulations including science surrounding reproduction, climate change, embryonic stem cell research, and cloning, and reject abstinence-only sex education? INL SCORE Key: Candidate s remarks and/or actions toward the Secular Coalition s stances have been: : Generally or consistently positive. B: Neutral or occasionally positive. C: Mixed, with positive and negative responses. : Generally or consistently hostile or negative. : t the time of publication, the Secular Coalition for merica was unable to verify the If the SC was unable to find a candidate s stance on at least four of the six questions, the candidate was given a final score of. The above chart is based on the topics and individual public candidate responses in the following sections

4 Individual Candidate Responses What role would religion play in the candidate s decision making in his or her role as U.S. Representative? Does the candidate support a science based curriculum in public schools and reject the use of public funding of religious schools or religiously-based curriculums? On the 1996 Illinois State National Political wareness Test, Rep. responded that he supports providing parents with state-funded vouchers for public, private, religious, or technical schools. 1 Does the candidate support the use of public funding for religiously-affiliated organizations such as faith-based initiatives, to provide services? Rep. voted in favor of HR 592, which made houses of worship eligible for emergency assistance and disaster relief, funds which were not made available to many other secular non-profits. 2 1 Illinois State 1996 National Political wareness Test, Nov 1, On the issues website accessed on ug 23, ederal Disaster ssistance Nonprofit airness ct of 2013; Bill H.592; vote 13-HV039 on eb 13, 2013.

5 Does the candidate support social policies that do not discriminate based on religion, such as marriage equality, and non-discrimination in adoption policies, the military and hiring practices at faith based organizations receiving public funds? Rep. opposes same-sex marriage. 3 He also voted twice against allowing nontheist chaplains to join the military s chaplain corps. 4 On her campaign website, Judge writes that she supports banning discrimination in employment and housing laws, honoring spousal and marital benefits for our military members, and advocating for anti-bullying policies for our schools and believes all mericans have the right to marry the person they love, regardless of their sexual orientation. 5 Does the candidate believe government sanctioned religious symbolism is appropriate? (Examples including prayer in legislative sessions and public schools, religious symbols on government property.) Project Vote Smart Survey on ug 30, Project Vote Smart website accessed on ug 23, mendment prohibits the use of funds to appoint chaplains without an endorsing agency; H.mdt.375 (leming) to H.R.2397; vote number 13-HV392 on Jul 23, and H.mdt.169 (Polis) to H.R.1960; vote number 13-HV238 on Jun 14, Issues, nn for Congress. nn campaign website accessed on ug 23, 2014.

6 Does the candidate support scientifically based regulations including science surrounding reproduction, climate change, embryonic stem cell research, and cloning, and reject abstinence-only sex education? Rep. cosponsored Title X bortion Provider Prohibition ct, which prohibits family planning assistance that includes abortion. 6 He also considers himself pro-life. 7 On her campaign website, Judge writes that she is pro-choice and believes women deserve to be in full control of personal health care decisions. She will protect women's access to lifesaving preventative care like mammograms and ovarian cancer screenings. She believes that insurance companies should provide coverage for contraception and that women should have access to emergency contraception. 8 Methodology Candidates were graded only on questions for which the Secular Coalition was able to identify the candidates' position either through statements or previous actions. or each response, the candidates were given a grade of, B, C or. n "" grade earned the candidate 3 points, "B" earned 2 points, "C" earned 1 point and an earned 0 points. n average of the candidates' grades for each question were averaged for each section. Grades of "" indicate that the Secular Coalition was unable to identify the candidate's position on the given topic. The section averages were then averaged for the total score. grades were not factored into the candidate's score. verages were compiled on the following scale: = B = C = = Title X bortion Provider Prohibition ct; H.R.217/S.135; 13-HR0217 on Jan 4, Project Vote Smart Survey on ug 30, Project Vote Smart website accessed on ug 23, Issues, nn for Congress. nn campaign website accessed on ug 23, 2014.

The Secular Coalition for merica is a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization whose purpose is to amplify the diverse and growing voice of the nontheistic community in the United States.

7 The Secular Coalition for merica is a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization whose purpose is to amplify the diverse and growing voice of the nontheistic community in the United States. We are located in Washington, D.C. for ready access to government, activist partners and the media. Our staff lobbies U.S. Congress on issues of special concern to our constituency. Our member organizations are established 501(c)(3) nonprofits who serve atheists, agnostics, humanists, freethinkers and other nontheistic mericans. Their purpose in founding the coalition was to formalize a cooperative structure for visible, unified activism to improve the civic situation of citizens with a naturalistic worldview. number of additional organizations have endorsed our mission statement. Member Organizations merican theists merican Ethical Union merican Humanist ssociation theist lliance of merica Black Nonbelievers Camp Quest Council for Secular Humanism reethought Society reedom from Religion oundation Hispanic merican reethinkers Humanist Community at Harvard Institute for Humanist Studies Military ssociation of theists and reethinkers Recovering from Religion Richard Dawkins oundation for Reason and Science (US) Secular Student lliance Society for Humanistic Judaism The UU Humanists

2014 Illinois 14th District Congressional Voter Guide

2014 Illinois 14th District Congressional Voter Guide The Candidates Representative Randy (R), incumbent Dennis (D), challenger 2014 Illinois 14th District Congressional Voter Guide What role would religion