2014 Illinois 14th District
Congressional Voter Guide
The Candidates
Representative Randy Hultgren (R), incumbent
Dennis Anderson (D), challenger
2014 Illinois 14th District Congressional
Voter Guide
Hultgren
Anderson
What role would religion play in the candidate’s decision
making in his or her role as U.S. Representative?
N/A
N/A
Does the candidate support a science based curriculum in
public schools and reject the use of public funding of
religious schools or religiously-based curriculums?
F
C
Does the candidate support the use of public funding for
religiously-affiliated organizations such as faith-based
initiatives, to provide services?
F
N/A
Does the candidate support social policies that do not
discriminate based on religion, such as marriage equality,
and non-discrimination in adoption policies, the military
and hiring practices at faith based organizations receiving
public funds?
F
A
Does the candidate believe government sanctioned
religious symbolism is appropriate? (Examples including
prayer in legislative sessions and public schools, religious
symbols on government property.)
F
N/A
Does the candidate support scientifically based regulations
including science surrounding reproduction, climate
change, embryonic stem cell research, and cloning, and
reject abstinence-only sex education?
F
A
FINAL S CORE
F
N/A
Key: Candidate’s remarks and/or actions toward the Secular Coalition’s stances have been: A: Generally or consistently positive. B: Neutral or occasionally positive. C: Mixed, with positive and negative responses. F: Generally or consistently hostile or negative. N/A: At the time of publication, the Secular Coalition for America was unable to verify the candidate’s position or did not have enough information to rate the candidate. If the SCA was unable to find a candidate’s stance on at least four of the six questions, the candidate was given a final score of N/A. The above chart is based on the topics and individual public candidate responses in the following sections. Individual Candidate Responses
What role would religion play in the candidate’s
decision making in his or her role as U.S.
Representative?
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1
N/A
N/A
Hultgren
Anderson
F
C
Rep. Hultgren voted in favor of reauthorizing the DC opportunity scholarship program
which took public funds away from public schools and gave them to private schools, 82%
of which were religiously-affiliated.1 On the 2010 Christian Coalition survey, he
responded that he supports education vouchers for public or private schools.2
On his campaign website, Anderson writes, “I support our teachers and our public
schools system, and will work to ensure that much-needed resources are not diverted to
for-profit corporations.”3
Does the candidate support the use of public funding for
religiously-affiliated organizations such as faith-based
initiatives, to provide services?
•
Anderson
At the time of publication, the Secular Coalition for America was unable to verify the
candidate’s position or did not have enough information to rate the candidate.
At the time of publication, the Secular Coalition for America was unable to verify the
candidate’s position or did not have enough information to rate the candidate.
Does the candidate support a science based curriculum
in public schools and reject the use of public funding of
religious schools or religiously-based curriculums?
•
Hultgren
Hultgren
Anderson
F
N/A
Rep. Hultgren voted in favor of HR 592, which made houses of worship eligible for
emergency assistance and disaster relief from the federal government, funds which were
not made available to many other secular non-profits.4
At the time of publication, the Secular Coalition for America was unable to verify the
candidate’s position or did not have enough information to rate the candidate.
Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act (SOAR); Bill HRes186 ; vote number 11-HV200 on Mar 30, 2011.
Christian Coalition Survey, Aug 11, 2010. On the Issues website accessed Jun 24, 2014.
3
“Education,” Dennis Anderson for Congress. Dennis Anderson’s campaign website accessed on Jun 24, 2014.
4
Federal Disaster Assistance Nonprofit Fairness Act of 2013; Bill H.R. 592; vote number 13-HV039 on Feb 13,
2013.
2
Does the candidate support social policies that do not
discriminate based on religion, such as marriage
equality, and non-discrimination in adoption policies,
the military and hiring practices at faith based
organizations receiving public funds?
•
•
•
5
Anderson
F
A
Rep. Hultgren cosponsored H.J.Res. 51, proposing a constitutional amendment defining
marriage as between one man and one woman.5 On his campaign website, he writes,
“Randy is fighting against federal and state laws that undermine the sanctity of marriage
and subsidize the break-up of families.”6
On his campaign website, Anderson writes, “Despite majority public support for
legalizing same-sex marriage, there are still too many states where such marriages are
illegal. The challenges that the LGBT community faces with regard to employment and
housing must be addressed.”7
Does the candidate believe government sanctioned
religious symbolism is appropriate? (Examples
including prayer in legislative sessions and public
schools, religious symbols on government property.)
•
Hultgren
Hultgren
Anderson
F
N/A
Rep. Hultgren cosponsored H.Res. 250, expressing support for prayer at public school
board meetings.8
At the time of publication, the Secular Coalition for America was unable to verify the
candidate’s position or did not have enough information to rate the candidate.
Bill sponsored by Rep. Huelskamp; H.J.Res.51; 13-HJRes51 on Jun 28, 2013.
“Issues,” Randy Hultgren for Congress. Randy Hultgren’s campaign website accessed on Jun 24, 2014.
7
“Civil Rights,” Dennis Anderson for Congress. Dennis Anderson’s campaign website accessed on Jun 24, 2014.
8
Expressing support for prayer at school board meetings; Bill HRes250; 13-HRes250 on Jun 6, 2013.
6
Does the candidate support scientifically based
regulations including science surrounding reproduction,
climate change, embryonic stem cell research, and
cloning, and reject abstinence-only sex education?
•
•
Hultgren
Anderson
F
A
Rep. Hultgren voted in favor of and cosponsored multiple bills that restrict reproductive
rights.9 On the 2010 Christian Coalition survey, he responded that he supports prohibiting
embryonic stem cell research.10 He also sponsored HR 718, which awards federal grants
to groups who teach abstinence-only sex education.11 Rep. Hultgren voted in favor of
barring the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions.12
On his campaign website, Anderson writes, “Women’s access to reproductive care,
including contraception, is under attack around the Nation.”13 On the environment, he
writes, “I believe that we all want a clean environment for ourselves and for the
generations to follow and there is nearly unanimous consensus in the scientific
community that climate change is real; that it is critical; and that human activities, in
particular the production and use of fossil fuels play a very real part in creating the
problem of climate change. If we are truly concerned about what sort of world we leave
to future, we must be willing to address climate change now.”14
Methodology
Candidates were graded only on questions for which the Secular Coalition was able to identify the
candidates' position—either through statements or previous actions. For each response, the
candidates were given a grade of A, B, C or F. An "A" grade earned the candidate 3 points, "B"
earned 2 points, "C" earned 1 point and an F earned 0 points. An average of the candidates' grades
for each question were averaged for each section. Grades of "N/A" indicate that the Secular
Coalition was unable to identify the candidate's position on the given topic. The section averages
were then averaged for the total score.
N/A grades were not factored into the candidate's score.
Averages were compiled on the following scale:
A = 2.25 – 3.0
B = 1.50 – 2.24
C = 0.75 – 1.49
F = 0.0 – 0.74
9
No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act; Bill H.3; vote number 11-HV292 on May 4, 2011.
Christian Coalition Survey, Aug 11, 2010. On the Issues website accessed Jun 24, 2014.
11
Abstinence Education Reallocation Act of 2013; Bill HR718; 13-H718 on Feb 14, 2013.
12
Energy Tax Prevention Act; Bill H910; vote number 11-HV249 on Apr 7, 2011.
13
“Civil Rights,” Dennis Anderson for Congress. Dennis Anderson’s campaign website accessed on Jun 24, 2014.
14
“Energy and the Environment,” Dennis Anderson for Congress. Dennis Anderson’s campaign website accessed
on Jun 24, 2014.
10
The Secular Coalition for America is a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization whose purpose is to amplify
the diverse and growing voice of the nontheistic community in the United States. We are located in
Washington, D.C. for ready access to government, activist partners and the media. Our staff lobbies
U.S. Congress on issues of special concern to our constituency.
Our member organizations are established 501(c)(3) nonprofits who serve atheists, agnostics,
humanists, freethinkers and other nontheistic Americans. Their purpose in founding the coalition
was to formalize a cooperative structure for visible, unified activism to improve the civic situation of
citizens with a naturalistic worldview. A number of additional organizations have endorsed our
mission statement.
Member Organizations
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American Atheists – www.atheists.org
American Ethical Union – www.aeu.org
American Humanist Association – www.americanhumanist.org
Atheist Alliance of America – www.atheistallianceamerica.org
Black Nonbelievers – http://blacknonbelievers.wordpress.com/
Camp Quest – www.campquest.org
Council for Secular Humanism – www.secularhumanism.org
Freethought Society – http://www.ftsociety.org/
Freedom from Religion Foundation – http://www.ffrf.org/
Hispanic American Freethinkers – http://www.hafree.org/
Humanist Community at Harvard – http://www.harvardhumanist.org/about-hcp/what-ishumanism/
Institute for Humanist Studies – www.humaniststudies.org
Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers – www.militaryatheists.org
Recovering from Religion – http://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/
Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (US) –
http://www.richarddawkins.net/
Secular Student Alliance— www.secularstudents.org
Society for Humanistic Judaism – www.shj.org
The UU Humanists – http://www.huumanists.org/