Black Ministers Threaten To Occupy Illinois House

ABC TV Chicago reports:

More than 100 religious leaders from the Chicago area are threatening to take over the Illinois legislature if lawmakers fail to pass a state budget in the next week. The potential protestors say they will storm the capitol and occupy every seat in the Illinois House.


The budget battle has a lot more nasty rhetoric, name-calling and political theater than viable solutions, but it won't have a major impact on Illinois residents until next month when the state has to pay employees, school districts, contractors and service providers. So, if there is no permanent or temporary solution by then, there could be a real meltdown, like the situation in Pennsylvania, and with that in mind, some activist ministers are threatening to take matters into their own hands.

"We are prepared to take our complete delegation to the capital to take over," said Rev. Ira Acree, Ministers Alliance.

The budget battle in Springfield escalated Monday as more than 100 activist ministers claiming to represent 500,000 parishioners threatened to take over the Illinois House in Springfield next Monday, sit in the lawmakers chairs and vote on a symbolic budget with more money for education, health care and mass transit if Governor Blagojevich and the other elected officials can't agree on a real budget by then.

"Since we have elected officials down there fighting, we are going to say enough is enough. People are suffering, because folks want to play politics," said Rev. Roosevelt Watkins, Ministers Alliance.

"You have seven days to get it together. Seven days," said Rev. Steve Jones, Ministers Alliance.

Click on the video link.You thought Democrats believe in separation of church and state? Guess again.