By: Tom Dermody - January 19, 2023 -
Featured Article
Participants kneel in prayer and praise during SEEK23, sponsored Jan. 2-6 by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) at the America’s Center Convention Complex in St. Louis. (Provided photo/FOCUS)
“It was an incredible, powerful week.” “I felt God’s presence in the Eucharist in a way I never had before.” “I had never experienced anything like it.” Those were just some of the reactions of university students in the Diocese of Peoria to being part of SEEK23, a five-day conference in St. Louis that invited […]
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By: The Catholic Post - November 22, 2023 -
Featured Article
Students, staff, and families from Central Catholic High School in Bloomington were among many who traveled to Springfield to urge the Illinois General Assembly to continue the Invest in Kids Act, providing donor-funded scholarships for families that otherwise might not be able to afford private school tuition. The Central Catholic contingent is pictured at the State Capitol on Nov. 7. (Photo from Central Catholic's Facebook page)
By Paul Thomas Moore Lawmakers failed to extend the Invest in Kids Act tax credit scholarship program during the recent fall veto sessions of the Illinois Legislature ending Nov. 9, but proponents say the fight is not over. More than 9,500 Illinois children of low-income families receive tuition support through the Invest in Kids program, […]
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By: The Catholic Post - October 19, 2023 -
Featured Article
An estimated 600 supporters spilled out of St. Mark School gym into hallways and overflow rooms at a town hall in Peoria to show support for the continuation of the Invest In Kids tax scholarship program, currently slated to “sunset” at year’s end. Miranda Eversole, mother of two children attending Holy Family School in Peoria through the program, is applauded as she voices her support. (The Catholic Post/Paul Thomas Moore)
By Paul Thomas Moore Terry Mischler, director of religious education at St. Mark School in Peoria, didn’t hear everything the speakers said at the Oct. 12 town hall in the packed school gym to save Illinois’ Invest in Kids tax scholarship program. She was too busy taking people to overflow classrooms showing a livestream of […]
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By: The Catholic Post - September 27, 2023 -
Featured Article
Members of the Nelson family of Macomb are shown at St. Paul School during an assembly in their honor on Sept. 11. On Sept. 8, after three years as foster siblings, David, Victoria, Mylee, Anthony, and Mystori officially joined Zachary and Elizabeth as children of Brandon and Kelly. The Nelsons are praying the Illinois Invest in Kids Act Tax Scholarship Program will be extended so the six younger children can continue to attend St. Paul School together. From left are Laura Cody, principal of St. Paul School, and Nelson family members Anthony, 10, father Brandon, David, 5, Elizabeth, 9, Mylee, 9, Victoria, 6, Zachary, 11, and mother Kelly. Mystori, 12, not pictured, is in junior high. (Provided photo)
By Paul Thomas Moore MACOMB — A Macomb family has become the “face” of the Illinois Invest in Kids scholarship program, which is set to expire at the end of the year. Kelly and Brandon Nelson have two biological children, Zachary, 11, and Elizabeth, 9, who attend St. Paul School in Macomb through the program, […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - April 9, 2022 -
Featured Article
Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, greets supporters of HB 4126 from Chicago, Joliet and Peoria as he prepares to enter the Senate Executive Committee hearing to discuss the legislation at the State Capitol in Springfield. To his left is Robert Gilligan of the Catholic Conference of Illinois. The Catholic Post/Jennifer Willems
SPRINGFIELD — Weeks of advocating for improvements to the Invest in Kids Act paid off for parents, school administrators and supporters when House Bill 4126 was passed unanimously by both houses of the Illinois General Assembly on April 7. Empower Illinois, the scholarship granting organization at the forefront of the advocacy effort, noted that the […]
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By: Tom Dermody - October 21, 2021 -
Featured Article
Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, receives a standing ovation Oct. 20 from Coadjutor Bishop Louis Tylka and priests from throughout the Diocese of Peoria following his remarks closing the 2021 Priest Assembly Days at the Spalding Pastoral Center in Peoria. Bishop Jenky, who turns 75 -- the age when bishops are required to submit a letter of resignation to the pope -- in March, expressed his personal love and gratitude to the priests, as well as that of Catholics throughout the diocese. (The Catholic Post/Tom Dermody)
Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, closed a two-day gathering of priests from throughout the Diocese of Peoria on Oct. 20 by expressing his love and gratitude for them as he prepares to “ease my way back into religious life.” “There’s a blessing in every stage of life, and letting go and just being able to […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - March 10, 2021 -
News Article
Every year since the Invest in Kids Act was passed in 2017, there has been an effort to eliminate or reduce it. This year is no different. Gov. JB Pritzker included the program, which makes tax credit scholarships available for students in private schools, in a proposal to eliminate $932 million from the budget for […]
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By: Tom Dermody - December 17, 2020 -
Featured Article
The theme of the 2020 Annual Diocesan Appeal is "Know, Love, Serve." It was conducted primarily through direct mail this year because of the pandemic.
In this most challenging year, Catholics of the Diocese of Peoria are responding generously to a modified Annual Diocesan Appeal that opened in September — six months later than usual and in the middle of a pandemic. With a goal set at $6 million, pledges have already crossed $5.2 million and more than $4.3 million […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - November 6, 2019 -
News Article
More than 400 students in Catholic schools around the Diocese of Peoria have received $1.4 million is tax credit scholarships as part of the Invest in Kids Act for this school year. That number could climb, however, since donations may continue to be made through Nov. 30. This is a marked improvement over the 2018-2019 […]
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By: Jennifer Willems - June 6, 2019 -
News Article
Empower Illinois, Invest in Kids Act, Jerry Sanderson
Among the 14 schools from the Diocese of Peoria that were represented in the Save My Scholarship campaign was Blessed Sacrament in Morton. Principal Mike Birdoes (far left) was at the State Capitol on May 31 when Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez, D-Cicero, announced that the Invest in Kids Act had been saved. (Provided photo)
It’s safe. Despite threats to reduce the cap for donations by 50 percent or phase out the program, the Invest in Kids Act came through the state budget process unscathed as the Illinois General Assembly completed its work. “We’re extremely pleased that Gov. Pritzker has decided to keep the program intact and honor the original […]
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