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Religious leaders say state government failing
By Kenneth Lowe
kenneth.lowe@lee.net
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SPRINGFIELD — The ethics of the current General Assembly and governor have been called into question, examined, and debated frequently over the past legislative session, but some people of faith say the question of whether state government is moral is of greater importance.

A growing deficit, delayed payments to health care providers, a lack of hiring new workers for vacant positions — all set to a backdrop of infighting among the Democratic leadership in the House, Senate and governor’s office — have given many religious leaders a poor view of how the state cares for its citizens.

Paul Kaplan, rabbi of the Moses Montefiore Temple in Bloomington, said the action — and inaction — of state officials is setting a bad example.

“From a religious and general ethical standpoint, where is the notion of selfless public service on a state or even national level?” Kaplan asked. “There is no sense of real public service anymore.”

Kaplan said the question is whether the government is capable of helping its citizens in areas like education, health care and other human services.

“If government has the ability to deliver those kinds of services to its citizens, (not doing so) is a violation of morals,” he said.

George Gordon, a retired professor of political science at Illinois State University, a McLean County Board member and a member of Kaplan’s congregation, said Illinois’ constitutional mandates on education funding, which has seen cuts, and the problems the state has had paying down its Medicare bills are more than just violations of the law.

“Somewhere in the prophets section of the Bible, there is the statement, ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself, ’ ” Gordon said. “Illinois has a lot of these kinds of things codified in law. For the state not to be delivering them is a violation of law and by extension a violation of ethics.”

Kirk Smith, a senior pastor at the Albion House of Prayer in Edwards County, said the problems with state government also reflect badly on the people of the state.

“The fact that the behaviors of our present government officials are tolerated by the taxpayers of Illinois, I feel it is more of an indictment on us than on the politicians ourselves,” Smith said. “We are morally compromised as people.”

Smith, who gave the invocation at the start of the House’s session as the guest of state Rep. David Reis, R-Willow Hill, said the situation is made worse by what he sees as a general apathy among those in the religious community in Illinois.

“I personally consider it almost a sin not to vote,” Smith said. “If the religious community ever wakes up to our power, it will transform politics. For some reason, we are naive at best and just plain ignorant at worst.”

David Pinkerton, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Raleigh, believes Springfield legislators need the prayers of constituents to overcome many of the weighty problems they face.

“I realize that they have a difficult job, and if I am praying the way that I need to, I will trust that God will intervene in their affairs and they will be able to come to resolutions that will come to the best interests of the citizens of the state,” Pinkerton said.

Pinkerton said voters should hold their elected officials to a higher standard of not just ethical, but moral behavior, and said the recent corruption conviction of Tony Rezko and his possible link to Gov. Rod Blagojevich is an unfortunate situation.

“We should hold our elected officials to a very high moral standard,” Pinkerton said. “I feel bad that our governor would be dragged up in a number of issues like this.”

Pinkerton did say, however, that many lawmakers are trying to do the right thing, and he hopes they can move forward with the business of the state.

“The state legislature as a whole has the best interests of the populace in mind and can move past what has been done,” Pinkerton said. “I think now they can move forward and meet the needs of the people.”

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Reader comments on this story - 5 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

MRS. wrote on Jun 22, 2008 1:23 PM:

" RE:ES: Rabbi, Pastors, Priests and the rest of us all vote and we vote our hearts. Personally, I wanted Thompson for president with Huckabee as vice president but I won't get what I want. Point is we are still citizens and we still vote and have a right to be involved in the process. You wouldn't be trying to take away our rights would you? "

ES wrote on Jun 22, 2008 1:25 AM:

" Hey Rabbi, Pastors, Priests and anything else I have missed: Separation of Church and State means just that. Mind your own business and preach, lecture, and pray for your congregation and leave the rest of us alone. "

BigBrother wrote on Jun 22, 2008 12:32 AM:

" There is nothing immoral about stopping the govenor from using the state funds to pay off his extorsion schemes!!!! Ridding the state of crooked politicians like the govenor and his coharts is extremely moral. The legislature is doing the right thing in denying any funding to the govenor. He will divert the funding for his personal needs if released. He is right now stumping to get a construction plan passed so he can divert those funds to his construction company campaign doners. He owes them for the campaign contributions and is hard pressed now to make good on his promises to them. Stopping Rod from robbing Illinois is the number one task of the legislature and needs to stay number one until he is impeached, indicted or retired from office. "

The Cats wrote on Jun 21, 2008 11:11 PM:

" ...and most thinking people say the religious system is failing. I have an idea...how about the churches go back to saving souls (at which they are failing miserably) and let those who are elected by the people govern. If no, then let's take the tax breaks these so called churches get away from them since they appear (on a daily basis) to be attempting to govern in spite of the clear delineations put forward in our constitution. We surely can use the revenue. "

Meh wrote on Jun 21, 2008 10:30 PM:

" And I should care what these religious leaders think? As long as they aren't trying to shove their backwards beliefs on my family or with my tax dollars, they can all go fly a kite. "
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