RAC-IL Applauds Gov. Pritzker's Decision to Welcome Refugees in Illinois

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 17, 2019

RAC-IL Applauds Gov. Pritzker’s Decision to Welcome Refugees in Illinois

CHICAGO – Following Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s submission of a letter to the U.S. State Department consenting to the continuation of refugee admission to the state, Julie Webb, Lead Organizer of the Illinois Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued the following statement:

“As Reform Jews, both our values and our communal history compel us to support refugee settlement in the United States. We are heartened that Gov. Pritzker has acted to protect the refugee settlement program in Illinois and extend our thanks to the governor and his administration.

“In advocating for the governor to submit a letter to the U.S. State Department stating his intention to continue welcoming refugees in Illinois, RAC-IL has worked closely with six refugee resettlement agencies in our state: World Relief Dupage/Aurora, RefugeeOne, Heartland Human Care Services, Catholic Charities, Ethiopian Community Association of Greater Chicago and HIAS Chicago, as well as the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.

“Leaders from RAC-IL had the opportunity to meet with Gov. Pritzker at the Union for Reform Judaism Biennial last week in Chicago, where he addressed 5,000 Reform Jews from across North America. We appreciate his willingness to engage with the Jewish community and others on the crucial issue of welcoming refugees in Illinois.”

###

The Illinois Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism is a state project of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington, which represents the Union for Reform Judaism, whose more than 850 congregations across North America encompass 1.5 million Reform Jews, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis, whose membership includes more than 2,000 Reform rabbis. RAC-IL represents 30 synagogues with over 50,000 members throughout Illinois. Visit www.rac.org for more.