Illinois Family Institute

Karl Benzio, MD, is a board certified psychiatrist who loves Jesus. As the co-founder and medical director of a unique Christian residential treatment facility, Dr. Karl has seen the whole gamut of destruction caused by addiction bondage. Using his expertise in decision-making sciences, Dr. Karl has implemented a special treatment philosophy that is Christ-centered, Bible-based, and clinically cutting edge to help people renew their minds and transform their lives. Please watch and listen to Dr. Benzio's presentation to better understand the problems and snares that exist in our culture. Parents and grandparents will especially want to listen and learn effective ways to help our child remain drug-free.

A brief historical and philosophical analysis of the role of science and medicine in the current times. *This lecture is from the 2021 Live Trinity Health Freedom Expo

Eric Metaxas is, among other things, a New York Times #1 bestselling author, speaker, host of a nationally-syndicated radio show, and a strong Christian conservative whose wit, clarity, and stubborn optimism make him a much sought-after voice in this cultural moment. Eric’s sense of humor has allowed him to contribute his creative genius and voice to various VeggieTales productions and a long list of children’s books... His sense of humor is in no way limited to kids’ spaces but rather a feature of both his writing and his speaking, bringing levity to even the most intense topics and conversations. "Letter to The American Church" is Eric’s most recent book, functioning as a clarion call to believers across the nation not to repeat the mistakes of German Christians during the rise of the Third Reich. As informed by the extensive research he conducted while writing Bonhoeffer, Eric brings to this new book his expertise on the cultural and spiritual mood of 1930s Germany, which largely made possible Hitler’s rise and the genocide of millions. In the face of a darkening and confused culture, Eric Metaxas makes a career out of bringing both encouragement and a challenge to believers. He calls for Christians of conviction to stand firm, speak the truth, and do so with the hope that comes from our faith in the gospel. Eric is a happy warrior for the application of a Christian worldview to every aspect of our lives.

Riley Gaines is a former collegiate swimmer at the University of Kentucky who is now an advocate for protecting women's safety, privacy, and the integrity of their sports. She gained national attention in 2022 when she tied for fifth place with Lia Thomas, a transgender man who pretends to be a women, in the NCAA swimming championships. Gaines rightly claims that allowing biological men to compete in women's sports is unfair to female athletes. She has also expressed concerns about the safety and privacy of female athletes in locker rooms and other shared spaces.

The Illinois Freedom Caucus held a press conference on Thursday, July 13th to support 16-year-old Abbigail Wheeler who was forced to share a locker room with a biological male and then kicked off her swim team after she complained about it.

The Christian Emergency League hosted a special panel discussion of Chicago area pastors to address the agenda of sexual chaos and confusion in our culture and in our churches. The event took place at the Church of Christian Liberty in Arlington Heights on Friday, June 30, 2023. At Issue: How do we show true love first to God and then to our neighbor? This vital issue of law, love, and neighbor was tackled by 5 Chicago area pastors, including: Jack Zumwalt Brandon Myers Lucas O’Neill Calvin Lindstrom Dr. Dave Wenkel Visit christianemergencyleague.org to learn more.

State Senator Celina Villanueva (D-Chicago) is the chief sponsor of SB 1909, which is titled the “Deceptive Practices of Limited Services Pregnancy Centers Act.” This overbearing proposal passed in committee today on a partisan roll call. Planned Parenthood of Illinois wants to weaponize the government against pro-life advocates and claim they mislead clients. Pregnancy care centers do not engage in “deceptive practices” but rather vital life-giving work. The people at these centers minister to needy, vulnerable women and children and are supported by people of faith across the state who want to be a blessing.

Illinois Family Institute was thrilled to welcome Kevin and Sam Sorbo to our annual fall banquet in in October 2022 as they shared their concerns about the secular culture, government education and the need to return to Judeo-Christian values. The Sorbos are a different kind of “power couple” — they are, in our opinion, an amazing Christian husband and wife team who, despite being blacklisted by Hollywood, have been very outspoken about abortion, public school indoctrination, illegal immigration, fatherlessness and a host of other social issues.

In his annual budget address on Wednesday, February 15th, Gov. Pritzker proposed that state officials spend $49.6 billion of tax dollars on a host of big government programs, especially in the areas of education and "human services," including $5 million to train people to kill babies in the womb. Pritzker also proposed spending $250 million to provide free pre-school for children as young as 3-years-old. TRANSCRIPT: https://www.nprillinois.org/illinois/2023-02-15/read-gov-pritzkers-state-of-the-state-and-budget-address

Dr. Mark Zumhagen started off the IFI Medical Freedom Forum (May 17, 2022) with an analysis of the war between science that acknowledges God and science that denies God. Illustrating this fact were the two chairs on the stage–one containing a Bible and one empty–a poignant example of the degradation that has ensued since God was removed from science dating back to 1859. Previous to this, scientists operated in an open system, a system where not only the natural realm but also the spiritual realm was taken into consideration. According to Zumhagen’s sources, Isaac Newton spent half his life studying the scriptures! His scientific study was conducted through the lens of the Creator’s truth–”in the beginning were the particles” (Gen. 1:1). Dr. Zumhagen explains that without Scriptural truth, scientists are viewing science through the limited lens of Darwinian “truth” are left unable to answer essential questions. Watch, listen and share!

Dr. Simone Gold, the founder of America’s Frontline Doctors, was our featured speaker at a special forum in which she exposed how medical tyranny is taking over America — and how our civil rights and the U.S. Constitution itself is under grievous attack. Internationally known as “the doctor who went viral,” Dr. Gold is a 20 year-plus formerly board certified emergency physician who voluntarily refused to renew her board certification in 2021 due to the unethical behavior of the Medical Boards. She is the author of the best-selling book “I Do Not Consent: My Fight Against Medical Cancel Culture.”

Should politics and religion be completely separate? Are Leftism and Christianity diametrically opposed? Is Leftism even compatible with Christianity? Listen to Dr. Everett Piper, former president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, as he tackles these questions and more in his worldview presentation titled: “The Religion of Wokeism.” Whether it’s defending unborn children or protecting our borders, Dr. Piper explains how conservative political views align with Christianity. He talks about how the religion of "wokeism" requires us to, among other things, submit ourselves to others, judge people on how they look instead of how they act, and affirm detestable behavior. Dr. Piper illuminates how incompatible "progressive" and Christian agendas are. Dr. Piper also delves into the causes of this dismal state of affairs, including irresponsible parents, corrupt pastors, and the government school system. Author of books such as Not a Daycare: The Devastating Consequences of Abandoning Truth and his newest book Grow Up: Life Isn’t Safe, But It’s Good, Dr. Piper leaves us with hope for the future. He emphasizes staying grounded in truth because we know God will prevail. During a fascinating Q & A after his speech, Dr. Piper answers several important questions that many Christians have.

On the Dan & Amy morning radio program this morning in Chicagoland, they discussed indoctrination in our government schools and the documentary “Who’s Children Are They?” If you have 20 minutes, you may want to give this a listen. Near the end, Dan rightly explains to his listening audience that our school systems are not reformable, and that the need for school choice is taking off. We are very glad for these voices of reason in the public square saying essentially the same thing we've been saying for years. Of course, IFI is emphasizing the most important aspect of why kids should leave the training camps of the devil… so that we teach them how they can become Disciples of Jesus Christ. If you'd like to learn more, please visit: https://illinoisfamily.org/education/pse/

Christian conservatives will want to watch and share this remarkable interview between Peter J. Leithart and Pastor Derek Buikema. Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute and serves as Teacher at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Birmingham and an adjunct Senior Fellow at New St. Andrews College. He is the author of many books, including a two-volume commentary on Revelation (T&T Clark, 2018) and a commentary on 1&2 Chronicles (Brazos, forthcoming). He writes a regular bi-weekly column at FirstThings.com, and has published articles in many periodicals, both popular and academic

In this webinar, Alex Newman stresses the importance of getting children out of public schools as quickly as possible. His reasons for this are many and stem from the global agendas being forced into the curriculum. These include socialism and communism--both failed experiments in other parts of the world--as well as the ever-expanding sexual education. This "education" only begins at the "drag queen story hours" that we have been hearing about for years. Now, schools can hide sex change services from parents, and educational materials go so far as to teach about the pedophilia present in ancient Greece. Furthermore, these schools are teaching Islamic and Buddhist principles, while banning prayer in schools, as part of the "global education" that schools are moving toward. Ultimately, they hope for a "world core curriculum" that will have the same standards for every child in every school in the world. This has always been the goal, Newman says, and is a sign to parents: get your children out of government schools.

Rev. Ceasar LeFlore's presentation at IFI's recent Public School Exit events. Learn more at https://illinoisfamily.org/education/pse/