Archive for December, 2007

My daughter passed by the clinic early Christmas morning and saw something inside the fence of the vacant lot at Planned Parenthood. She drove around to see it better and saw it was a manger.

She took pictures of it and I will try to put the pictures on here. After church we all took a ride out there. Two statues, a wooden shelter with words on it and an empty manger sits in the field and faces the clinic.

Update: Pictures of the caroling day are up! Click here to check them out.

What a joyful occasion our "Empty Manger" caroling day was! Today we toured four abortion facilities across DuPage County bringing the light of Christmas and the love of Christ to those darkest of places.

As Eric continually reminded us, the abortuary is the opposite of Christmas. Christmas welcomes life into the world, the Life that was the Light of men. The abortionist destroys the life that is so desperately trying to enter the world. This poignant contrast pervaded our day. [Continue reading . . . »]

In an exciting development, our crack team of attorneys filed a motion today that could have very far reaching consequences.

Before I can explain exactly what has happened, a little legal background will be helpful.

First, in the current Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) hearing, our attorneys are arguing that, when the city issued a permit for Planned Parenthood in October despite all the evidence that PP should not occupy that property, they made an inaccurate zoning determination. When a property has been understood as improperly zoned, it is illegal under the City's own code to issue any further occupancy permits. [Continue reading . . . »]

At Saturday's protest, we restored 70 of the memorial crosses torn apart by city workers after the November protest. Here are two of them, and if you look to the lower left corner of this picture you can see how effectively the booted feet of our two hundred picketers cleared the sidewalk.

In anticipation of this Saturday's "Empty Manger" Christmas Caroling Day, I thought I would launch the Wednesday Open Thread with this question: What is your favorite Christmas carol?

[Continue reading . . . »]

Saturday's protest at Planned Parenthood was another great success! Over two hundred dedicated pro-lifers came out despite wind, snow, and below-freezing temperatures. Everyone was excited to be there, standing up for life. There is no weather bad enough to dampen the spirits of Aurora's determined faithful!

Not only was it an invigorating morning of fellowship and telling the truth about Planned Parenthood, there was a baby and a mother spared the pain and destruction of abortion that morning! More on that below. [Continue reading . . . »]

Clinic witness Joe B. shares this story of a woman who turned away from abortion at Planned Parenthood and chose life for her baby. Thanks to Joe and all those who brave the cold to pray and counsel.

I thought I would pass this great success story from the prayer vigil on Saturday December 8.

Between noon and 1:00 p.m. Ginny N., Alfredo P. and I were standing across from the entrance to Planned Parenthood. Two women between ages 20 and 25 came out of the clinic and got into a Burgundy four door sedan (maybe a Pontiac or Buick).

[Continue reading . . . »]

Tonight: Live-blogging from the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) hearing in the Council Chambers of City Hall. At the first hearing November 28, the ZBA set a time line and ground rules for the hearings. Tonight's hearing will deal with our Motion to Complete the Record.

Breaking News: This afternoon, our attorneys filed a Motion for Subpoenas [PDF], asking the ZBA to allow us to conduct expedited depositions of Zoning Administrator Ed Sieben, Building Official Herman Beneke and independent investigators Phillip Luetkehans and Richard Martens.

[Continue reading . . . »]

A couple of developments from the Aurora City Hall today:

1. Parental Notice Ordinance

Alderman Rick Lawrence appeared before the Government Operations Committee this afternoon to request that they postpone further discussion of the Parental Notification Ordinance until their February 26 meeting. More time is needed to craft an ordinance that will provide real protection for minor children and be enforceable under state law.

[Continue reading . . . »]

Tomorrow at 7 p.m. at City Hall, our case before the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) will advance another important step forward. The ZBA will consider our "Motion to Complete the Record."

By means of this motion, our attorneys are seeking to ensure two things:

1. That city officials disclose all documents relevant to our appeal.
2. That all relevant documents are included in the record.

You see, we've had some difficulty getting city officials to cooperate as we've been putting together our case. [Continue reading . . . »]

I posted a couple of new videos from last month's protest of Planned Parenthood Aurora. The first mixes Eric’s closing prayer with various pics and video clips from the day. If you know someone who is considering attending this Saturday, it gives a nice overview of how these monthly rallies look and feel: peaceful, prayerful, organized and effective.

The second captures yet another First Amendment violation against pro-lifers in Aurora. Roger Earl was not permitted the freedom to pray quietly while walking his daughter in a stroller. Pro-lifers are denied access to certain sidewalk areas during our monthly protests (which is unconstitutional in itself), but Roger was not even [Continue reading . . . »]