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Conservatives concerned over law
Same-sex marriage ruling leads to new bill protecting religious freedom By HANNAH PROKOP
hprokop@shawmedia.com After the Supreme Court’s ruling last month gave samesex couples the right to marry anywhere in the United States, some conservatives have raised concerns over whether the law could affect “religious freedom.” U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren, R-Winfield, has cosponsored the First Amendment Defense Act, which would “prevent the federal government from discriminating against individuals or entities which affirm marriage as between a man and a women or that sexual re-
lationships are best reserved for such marriage,” according to a news release from Hultgren. “There is real concern for people of religious conviction,” Hultgren said regarding the Supreme Court’s decision. “Potential harm could come to religious freedom.” Hultgren said some of his U.S. Rep fears are that Randy agencies, such Hultgren as religiously-affiliated nonprofits doing adoption work or parochial
Crystal Gray (left) of Wonder Lake and her wife, Shari Miller, are seen Thursday at the McHenry Dam. Gray was born a man and transitioned into a woman after her wife died in 2006. She is a transgender advocate who worked her way up the ranks in Colorado.
schools, might have to sacrifice their beliefs. One petition from MoveOn.org aims to take away the 501(c)(3) tax status of churches lobbying against the court ruling on same-sex marriage, and has drawn a few hundred signatures. “Whether it’s a school or nonprofit, they shouldn’t have to sacrifice,” Hultgren said. “They should continue to hold onto those religious beliefs.” The act would prevent the denial of tax exemption and the denial of any federal grant, contract, license, certification
Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
See BILL, page A6
Medicaid sign-ups skyrocket in Illinois
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY DEDICATES NEW HOUSE
Enrollee numbers pass projections By CARLA K. JOHNSON The Associated Press
Photos by Mike Greene for Shaw Media
Jamie Askin (left) gets emotional as Habitat for Humanity McHenry County executive director Jerry Monica hands over the keys to her newly completed home Sunday in Woodstock.
Dedication marks 30th home
Numbers up for group helping those in need By EMILY K. COLEMAN
W
ecoleman@shawmedia.com
OODSTOCK – As the walls went up and the paint started to dry at the two-story townhouse, Jamie Askin started imagining where all her belongings would go. The idea of owning her own home seemed out of reach to the Crystal Lake resident before she started working with Habitat for Humanity of McHenry County, but Sunday afternoon, she was handed the keys. “There’s so much happiness and joy,” Askin said. “You can’t just help but cry.” Askin and her 11-year-old son, Max, were in a “a bit of a situation” and needed to find a new place to live, Askin said. She had heard about Habitat for Humanity through a friend and fellow single mom who had
See HOMES, page A4
LOCAL NEWS
Taking flight Spring Grove attorney works to rebuild WWII T6 airplane / A3
Askin is all smiles after receiving a housewarming gift from Willow Creek Church member Peyton Grannis, 10, of Algonquin.
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CHICAGO – Illinois is among a dozen states where the number of new enrollees surpassed projections for the expansion of Medicaid under President Barack Obama’s health law. While the surge in sign-ups lifts the number of insured people, it also has stoked worries about the future cost to taxpayers. Illinois and Cook County eventually will have to bear 10 percent of the cost of expanding the safety-net insurance program for the poor. The federal government agreed to pay all costs for the expansion through 2016, but it will begin lowering its share in 2017. More than twice as many Illinois residents have enrolled under the expansion than was projected by former Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration. It expected 298,000 people to sign up in 2015, but 623,000 newly eligible Illinoisans enrolled by the end of June. Sign-ups have outstripped forecasts in at least a dozen states, according to a new analysis by The Associated Press. It’s unclear why the Illinois estimates were so off, said Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, a Chicago-based, nonpartisan government research organization. Consultants the state used couldn’t have known how Cook County’s expansion of Medicaid a year early, under a special arrangement with the federal government, would drive thousands to sign up. Or how a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign funded by federal grants would persuade many more. With more people getting free health care, costs to Illinois and Cook County will increase as the federal government scales back what it pays from 100 percent to 90 percent by 2020.
See MEDICAID, page A6
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