LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY jmthane)

...but this entry from rechan only tells part of what LaBarbera's doing in Illinois.

Here's the news article from the Aurora Beacon News, written by Tim Waldorf, staff writer:

The executive director of a well-known anti-gay group is leaving the organization to start up a new group that will be based in Naperville.

Illinois Family Institute said its executive director, Peter LaBarbera, was resigning to pursue his goal of creating a national organization dedicated to confronting the "homosexual activist agenda".

LaBarbera, 44, who joined the Institute in September, 2003, is recognized as a leading opponent of the gay movement. Under his tenure, the group's visibility and grassroots network grew tremendously, the Institute said in a statement. In the weeks leading up to the November election, he will stay on at IFI as an advisor to help with the transition. LaBarbera's new group, Americans for Truth, will be based in Naperville.

Glen Ellyn-based Illinois Family Institute named David E. Smith as its new executive director. Smith, 37, has served as senior policy analyst at the Institute since March, 2004 and is leading the push for a statewide marriage protection referendum in Illinois.

He gained national attention after filing 70 FCC complaints against Chicago shock-jock Eric "Mancow" Muller, resulting in a $300,000 fine against Mancow's parent company, Emmis Communications Corporation, the Institute said in a statement.

"It is a great honor to be chosen to lead Illinois Family Institute," Smith said in the statement. "I will do my best to defend marriage, life, and decency for the families of this state against the determined efforts of liberal groups to disqualify biblically informed thought and action."