Matt C. Abbott column
Yes, life is a highway - -so support 'Choose Life' license plates!
Matt C. Abbott
Veteran pro-life activist Jim Finnegan, president of Illinois Choose Life, would never think of waving the white flag when it comes to fighting the pervasive culture of death.
God bless him.
Jim's main endeavor since 2002 has been an attempt to get the State of Illinois to approve the use of a specialty license plate whose sales would provide financial aid to organizations that promote adoption.
"Trips to the capitol to make this a reality occurred during 2002, 2003 and 2004 — with no success," says Jim. "In fact, not even a hearing, let alone an up or down vote, on the plate itself. The Choose Life plate remains the only specialty plate refused a hearing and vote in Illinois."
Jim and Illinois Choose Life sued at the federal level and prevailed initially, but the state appealed and, sad to say, the state's appeal was successful. Illinois Choose Life's attorney, Tom Brejcha (of the Thomas More Society), did appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the court refused to hear the case.
Still, Jim is determined to pursue and exhaust every peaceful and legal means possible to get Illinois — the Midwest's abortion dumping ground — to approve the pro-life, pro-adoption license plate.
Says Jim:
"We will wait, hope and pray for major changes to occur in November — in particular, the election of Bill Brady over pro-abortion Governor Pat Quinn. After the elections we will renew our efforts to add the Choose Life plate to Illinois. At the present time, 25 states have approved the plate and another 14 are working toward approval.
"We will succeed if enough people support our effort. It truly is as simple as that."
Those who wish to contact Jim Finnegan can e-mail him at jimpfinn@[no spam]aol.com.
God bless him.
Jim's main endeavor since 2002 has been an attempt to get the State of Illinois to approve the use of a specialty license plate whose sales would provide financial aid to organizations that promote adoption.
"Trips to the capitol to make this a reality occurred during 2002, 2003 and 2004 — with no success," says Jim. "In fact, not even a hearing, let alone an up or down vote, on the plate itself. The Choose Life plate remains the only specialty plate refused a hearing and vote in Illinois."
Jim and Illinois Choose Life sued at the federal level and prevailed initially, but the state appealed and, sad to say, the state's appeal was successful. Illinois Choose Life's attorney, Tom Brejcha (of the Thomas More Society), did appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the court refused to hear the case.Still, Jim is determined to pursue and exhaust every peaceful and legal means possible to get Illinois — the Midwest's abortion dumping ground — to approve the pro-life, pro-adoption license plate.
Says Jim:
"We will wait, hope and pray for major changes to occur in November — in particular, the election of Bill Brady over pro-abortion Governor Pat Quinn. After the elections we will renew our efforts to add the Choose Life plate to Illinois. At the present time, 25 states have approved the plate and another 14 are working toward approval.
"We will succeed if enough people support our effort. It truly is as simple as that."
Those who wish to contact Jim Finnegan can e-mail him at jimpfinn@[no spam]aol.com.
Matt C. Abbott is a Catholic columnist with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication, Media and Theatre from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, and an Associate in Applied Science degree in Business Management from Triton College in River Grove, Ill. He has worked in the right-to-life movement and is a published writer focused on Catholic and social issues. He can be reached at mattcabbott@gmail.com
http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/abbott/100720
