Letter to Religious Institutions - Durbin Informs Illinois Religious Institutions Of Nonprofit Security Grant Funding

Letter

I am writing to make you aware of an important federal funding opportunity for nonprofit organizations.

Religious institutions and houses of worship should be places where people can safely and freely exercise their constitutionally protected right to worship. Unfortunately, all too often churches, mosques, synagogues, and other religious institutions are also targets for hate crimes, ranging from vandalism to violent attacks. In recent years, we have been horrified to see shootings at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek, Wisconsin; Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina; the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and the Chabad of Poway synagogue in California. These incidents of hate and terrorism have also targeted religious minority communities abroad, including the massacre at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is clear that these terrorist attacks are part of a broader pattern of violence motivated by hate, and we must take this threat seriously.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has recognized the particular threat posed by violent domestic extremists who target racial and religious minorities, noting in the September 2019 Strategic Framework for Countering Terrorism and Targeted Violence that "White supremacist violent extremism, one type of racially- and ethnically-motivated violent extremism, is one of the most potent forces driving domestic terrorism." The scope of the threat was also illustrated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) most recent annual report on hate crimes statistics, which found that violent hate crimes reached a 16-year high in 2018.

In light of this ongoing threat, we must ensure that nonprofit organizations have the necessary resources to improve their security. Recently, I helped secure $90 million in nonprofit security grant funding for the Department of Homeland Security in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, which was signed into law in December. Of this funding, $50 million is set aside for urban areas. These grant programs assist facilities in building and sustaining the capabilities necessary to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism.

Should your institution wish to apply for funding, these Fiscal Year 2020 grant opportunities are now open for application. Institutions located in Chicago or Cook County are eligible for urban nonprofit security grants, and institutions located outside of Cook County are eligible for statewide nonprofit security grants. You can find the instructions on completing either of these applications on the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA)'s website at the following address: www2.illinois.gov/iema/ITTF/Pages/Grants.aspx. If you need any assistance, please contact my office at (202) 224-2152.

We must be proactive in protecting religious institutions against the threat of hate crimes and domestic terrorism, and I will also continue my efforts to prevent and counter this threat through legislation like the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act, which I reintroduced with Congressman Brad Schneider in January. And I will continue to work with all communities across Illinois and the nation to combat the hatred and bigotry behind this threat.

I will continue working with my colleagues to support the protection of nonprofit organizations, including religious institutions like yours, from terrorist attacks. If you need any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact my office.

Source