From EWTN, more on the threats to religious liberty in Illinois following the passage of their (very problematic) SSU bill:

If a new civil unions law in Illinois shuts down Catholic adoption and foster care programs in the state, it will ultimately be harmful to those children in need, the Catholic Conference of Illinois says.

Conference executive director Robert Gilligan said that an “impending clash between religious liberty and civil unions legislation” in Illinois could halt services provided to children up for adoption or foster care by Catholic charities and other faith-based groups.

On June 1, the state is slated to implement a civil unions law, which will give legal rights and recognition to same-sex or unmarried opposite-sex couples.

Gilligan explained that the state of Illinois has a history of dependence on faith-based organizations.

“It's a shame that the state of Illinois can't recognize that valuable contribution that we have been providing to the citizens of Illinois even before the Department of Children and Family services was established,” he said.

Gilligan recalled that in the 1990s “the department was in disarray, so the state turned to Catholic, Lutheran, Jewish and many good private agencies to help them.”

The state went from having 46,000 children in the foster care system in 1997 to 16,000 today.