Judge Backs State Over Church in Ill. Civil-Unions Fight

An Illinois judge ruled Thursday that the state can cut ties to Catholic adoption and foster-care charities that refuse to place children with same-sex and unmarried couples, Reuters reports.

Charities affiliated with the Joliet, Peoria, and Springfield dioceses sued the state in June to block it from canceling longstanding child-welfare contracts.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services let the contracts lapse after Catholic groups said they would not comply with a new state law legalizing civil unions and barring discrimination against gay and unmarried couples.

“No citizen has a legally recognized right to a contract with the government,” Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge John Schmidt said.