Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – The time is now, supporters say, to create an Illinois Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives.

“Right now our country is gripped with uncertainty,” Rev. Ciera Bates-Chamberlain (pictured), executive director of Live Free Illinois, said at a Capitol news conference Wednesday. “Fear is being weaponized to divide us, and policies from the (Trump) administration threaten to roll back progress, deepen inequities, and destabilize our community.

“But we won’t allow that to happen.”

The sponsor of the bill, State Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago), said he did not see a church-state conflict in the role of Live Free Illinois, saying he likens the situation to that with Catholic Charities.