They’ve prevented hundreds of abortions.
They keep Illinois from becoming a hostile pro-life state like California.
Who are they?
They are your pro-life lobbyists. These pro-life leaders are in Springfield day in and day out fighting to be your voice to the 177 elected members of the Illinois General Assembly.
When bad bills come up, they work to defeat them. When good bills are proposed, they help to get them passed.
We’ve had the privilege of shadowing some of these lobbyists in Springfield, and we have seen just how hard they work. Allow us to introduce you to three of our pro-life lobbyists:
Ralph Rivera
Ralph is the only full time pro-life lobbyist at the Illinois State Capitol. He’s been lobbying
for the Illinois pro-life movement since 1975 and has saved countless children with his work. He lobbies on behalf of Illinois Citizens for Life and Illinois Family Institute.
Dawn Behnke
Dawn is the President of Illinois Federation for Right to Life and an attorney who has been a pro-life lobbyist since 1991. Dawn says that the best way to influence your legislator is to develop a relationship with the legislator by meeting with them in person and to continue to have contact with them.
Robert Gilligan
Robert has served as the executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois since
2003. As the public policy voice of the state’s Catholic bishops, the Catholic Conference monitors legislation that affects the Church and her mission (including the pro-life issues). Robert believes that voters should meet with their state lawmakers at their district offices to tell them of their concerns concerning pro-life issues.
There are other great lobbyists representing you like Rev. Bob Vanden Bosch (Concerned Christian Americans) and Zach Wichmann (Catholic Conference of Illinois).
We team up with the lobbyists to keep you educated on what is going on. We also provide research and information to support them in any way we can.
It’s frightening to think of the state Illinois would be in if these leaders weren’t there protecting the unborn and their mothers and fathers. These leaders are a vital part of our movement.