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Remember HQ in Oak Brook? Didn't ATI/IBLP Bill Gothard own some of the homes behind the HQ? A couple more have gone on the market (Per zillow, take it with a grain of salt). Does anyone know which houses they owned back there? https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/house_type/5d38f5602cX1-CR1vr70a5y44k31_17cld3_crid/3-_beds/1.0-_baths/123000-_price/453-_mp/41.849712,-87.917018,41.797648,-88.007998_rect/X1-SS1c95xcy0yn6rv_4rdd9_sse/0_mmm/

This AMA is the best I’ve ever seen on ATI. She talks about the courtship market and how marriages are arranged, refers to ATI as a ‘rape cult’ and how many families (spoiler: all) have sexual abuse taking place, talks about how Hobby Lobby gave Gothard the Big Sandy property, how she speculates that ALERT is the equivalent of the FLDS booting young men to minimize competition for predators, and so many other interesting points and ideas which have shocked me, and I have followed ATI since the early 2000s. Worth reading every bit of the thread, as a lot if revealed in follow up answers as well.

I did not really know much at all about Bill Gothard until I dated an IBLP homeschooler in 2016. I found it odd that she randomly lived in Oklahoma City away from her family for about 6 months, and she never told me why, but that she worked at a motel. I was thinking "Why not work at a motel back home if you love motels so much?" but always wondered if maybe Bill Gothard has some sort of concentration camp that she was sent to in Oklahoma City?

http://www.discoveringgrace.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/For-those-who-have-ears-to-hear.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2B0wosVngCcYT5yzs_w7zAvPq25ZUeX5bNF1CyM8u-canJxzGWA3FHfig I always feel I must point out that BG himself admitted to inappropriate touching: "My actions of holding of hands, hugs, touching of feet or hair with young ladies crossed the boundaries of discretion and were wrong. They demonstrated a double-standard and violated a trust." The writer of the above letter can protest all they want but Bill Gothard admitted that he crossed the line. The claim that he has been exonerated legally is also eye-bulgingly inaccurate. The judge made sure that the victims could re-take up their case once they had the funds to continue if they chose. I also have to laugh that the author thinks that the board doesn't understand how a board works-- that they are answerable to Gothard as owner of IBLP. That's not how a board works- I think it is you who doesn't understand.

I was torn between Quiver Full of Snark or QFO Politics. Mods, feel free to move. Mark Meuser, a graduate of Oak Brook School of Law, is the leading Republican candidate for Secretary of State. He seems to be fixated on voting reform and buys into a whole bunch of Alex Jones conspiracy stuff about L.A. county having 144% of their adult population registered to vote. He also has long rambling, grammatically challenged statements and a soupcon or racism. What hath the GOP wrought? http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/the-conversation/sd-california-more-voters-than-eligible-adults-claim-20170809-htmlstory.html

There are a few things in this article, but the first part is about the crewmembers that filmed the Duggars and also several others who have escaped IBLP. It specifically talks about how sheltered the Duggars are and how unworldly. I feel so bad for the children being raised in that environment.

If you have spent any time on Free Jinger, you will likely recognize the acronyms ATI and IBLP. This is the fundamentalist ministry created by Bill Gothard, an unmarried man who believes such things as: There has long been talk about both Bill Gothard and his brother committing acts of sexual misconduct with female employees and interns. As long ago as 1980, Gothard admitted to "moral failures" with some of the staff. We at FJ have long awaited some kind of action to be taken against this unmarried man who had unlimited access to vulnerable women who are taught from birth that if a man "stumbles" it is the woman's fault. On around October 21, 2015, we became aware that a civil lawsuit had finally been filed against IBLP and all the members of the Board. Bill Gothard is no longer part of the organization, having been forced to resign after another round of accusations in 2014. The board members named in the lawsuit are: John Stancil, Anthony Burrus, Gil Bates, Timothy Levendusky, Charles Stephen Paine, Jr., and David York. From Recovering Grace: The Complain in it's entirety can be found at the Chicago Tribune Each of the 5 Plaintiffs are asking for $50,000. Once a leader in the homeschooling movement, Gothard's ministry has managed to largely fly under the radar of the general public, despite having some rather high profile adherents. Recently, Rep. Daniel Webster (R -FL) was considering a run for Speaker of the House, following John Boehner's resignation. Arguably the most famous followers are The Duggar family of TLC's 19 Kids and Counting, which was cancelled after several scandals related to the oldest Duggar child, Josh. In May, 2015, In Touch magazine dropped the bombshell that when Josh Duggar was a teenager he sexually abused at least 5 girls, including several of his siblings. In August, it was revealed that Josh had not one, but two accounts at Ashley Madison, a website which has the tagline "Life is short. Have an affair." For some 10 seasons, the Duggars have been promoted by TLC as a (very) large, happy Christian family. They have shown the Duggars on the campaign trail for politicians such a Mike Huckabee and RIck Santorum. While claiming to be a shiny, happy Christian family, the Duggars have spoken out against the gay community and abortion. Josh was hired by the Family Research Council and moved to Washington, DC, which was also documented on 19 Kids and Counting. Recently, Gothard and his ministry have gotten more mainstream attention thanks to Josh Duggars misconduct and hypocrisy coming to light. While the Duggar family show, 19 Kids and Counting was cancelled by TLC, they have recently announced that they plan to do several "special episodes" of a show starring the newly married Duggar children, Jill Dillard and Jessa Sewald. What some people may not know is that another high profile Gothard adherent also has a TV show. Gil Bates and his family have a show titled Bringing Up Bates on the UP network. The Bateses are often seen as a less strict, more fun version of the Duggars. They also have 19 kids and in the last several years have married off 4 children, some of which were shown on either 19 Kids and Counting or Bringing up Bates. In fact, one of the Bates children married the son of Rep. Daniel Webster (R-FL) You might recognize the name Gil Bates from earlier in this post. That's right, he is a member of the Board of IBLP and was named in the lawsuit. The general public may have the Duggar's number thanks to Josh, but there is still a high profile IBLP member that has a platform to show off these dangerous beliefs on TV and he seems to be slipping under the radar, just like the Duggars did for many years. Please join us for discussion here: http://www.freejinger.org/topic/24484-negligence-lawsuit-filed-against-iblp/#top Further reading: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/10/22/five-women-sue-bill-gothards-ministry-that-has-ties-to-the-duggars/ http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2015/10/23/fundamentalist_duggar_connected_ministry_is_sued_for_sex_abuse_cover_up.html http://www.salon.com/2015/10/23/the_cult_of_duggar_worship_must_be_stopped_theres_nothing_glamorous_about_the_familys_ongoing_hypocrisy/