Rich Miller
Advocates reject pols’ symbolism on abortion
By Rich Miller
Back in early July, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Gov. JB Pritzker and the two Democratic legislative leaders, House Speaker Chris Welch and Senate President Don Harmon, issued a joint statement, which in part said: “We plan to work closely together for the remainder of the summer to assess every possibility of what we can do and convene a special session in the coming months.”
But the fine print of the rest of that statement has slowed things down: “As we build on Illinois’ nation-leading abortion protections and access, it is essential to bring lawmakers and advocates into the room to continue to work together. In the coming weeks, as the ripples of the decision to overturn Roe are felt throughout the nation, we expect to get an acute sense of our needs and how Illinois can play an even more vital role in standing up for reproductive freedom.”
Lawmakers and advocates have been brought together for talks ever since that special session statement was issued, but, as always, the devil is in the details.
Advocates and several legislators appear to only want to pass bills with immediate effective dates. That means each chamber would have to come up with three-fifths super-majorities if anything is passed before the end of this calendar year. The voting threshold for immediate effective dates drops to simple majorities starting Jan. 1. Until then, per the state constitution, the earliest a bill passed with a simple majority can become law is next June 1.
It almost seems like every few days brings a new legal twist from another anti-abortion state legislature. Just the other day, for instance, a federal judge temporarily blocked part of Idaho’s near-total abortion ban because it appears to violate a federal law mandating the provision of emergency health care. The suit was brought by the U.S. Attorney General. Indiana’s sweeping new anti-abortion law takes effect in September. Iowa’s supreme court flip-flopped in June and ruled that the state’s constitution does not protect abortion rights after all. New bans took effect last week in Tennessee, Texas and North Dakota, according to NPR.
Also, new ideas are popping up with frequency as laws from other states are being analyzed. An idea from Democratic secretary of state candidate Alexi Giannoulias’ campaign to block anti-abortion states from using Illinois traffic camera images to track their residents who travel here for abortions is just one of them.
Giannoulias’ proposal would prohibit data gathered by automatic license plate readers from being used to assist other states track their residents while they’re in Illinois for possible violations of abortion laws in their home states. “Illinois must enact protections to ensure that data is not used to target women seeking access to abortion services or employing it as any type of surveillance system to track them,” Giannoulias told WBBM Radio.
His Republican opponent, Rep. Dan Brady, has responded by saying he’ll stick to improving services and cutting wait times and not involve himself in policy. Giannoulias replied that he could “walk and chew gum” at the same time.
It was a clever move to tie the mostly ministerial secretary of state office to actual public policy that’s in the headlines every day and driving the nation’s political dialogue. That’s clearly a sign of a strong campaign.
Along those lines, one of the measures that the legislative leaders and the governor hoped to pass in a special session was an advisory referendum on this November’s ballot asking if voters wanted a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights.
These sorts of referenda were a favored tool of former House Speaker Michael Madigan, who would use issues like a tax surcharge on millionaires to drive up Democratic election-day turnout and, to a lesser extent, provide a boost to future legislative initiatives on the topic, or provide an excuse for not doing anything further.
A referendum has been rejected by many advocates and pro-choice legislators alike, who want to see actual results, not symbolism for obvious political gain.
The bottom line here is that a special session on abortion rights is not looking all that likely any longer.
The same thing goes for gun law reforms. There are a lot of moving parts to this issue and some legislators, particularly Downstaters, would rather not poke the gun lobby before election day.
Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.
Local News
Area wrestlers advance to sectionals
Spread the loveFrom Staff Reports The following wrestlers have qualified for sectional competition after placing in the top three at their respective regional tournaments. (Name, class, finish at regional) Class 3A Marist Regional Marist George Marinopoulos, Fr, 2nd at 106 Michael Esteban, Fr, 1st at 113 Will Denny, Fr, 2nd at 120 Jesse Herrera,…
Mayor ‘out of control,’ hero says
Spread the lovePolice ranks ‘thousands’ short, dispatcher tells Scottsdale By Tim Hadac It’s not every day that a City worker has the courage to attend a public meeting and call a mayor “out of control.” But Keith A. Thornton Jr. did exactly that earlier this week on the Southwest Side. A 911 dispatcher hailed as…
Rockie is the new kid on the block
Spread the love While some folks see heavy snowfall and curse the skies, children across the Southwest Side seemed thrilled with last week’s winter windfall. Schools cancelled classes, and kids like 9-year-old Rosie Arroyo showed her creativity by working with her father, Raul, to build a snowman in front of their home near 49th and…
Kaegi, legislators, advocates unveil affordable housing initiative
Spread the loveFrom staff reports Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi was joined by state legislators and affordable housing advocates earlier this week to launch the Affordable Housing Special Assessment Program, a new form of property tax relief recently signed into law. Kaegi worked with legislative partners who passed the law last spring, including State Sens.…
Lopez nixes dibs
Spread the love While calling dibs on parking spaces in the winter is an informal tradition in the city, 15th Ward Ald. Raymond Lopez recently reminded his constituents in Back of the Yards, Brighton Park, Gage Park and West Englewood that no one may call dibs indefinitely. He instructed his Streets and Sanitation ward superintendent…
St. Dan’s Summerfest to return
Spread the lovePopular event was gone for several years By Tim Hadac Details are just starting to emerge, but it looks like St. Daniel the Prophet Parish’s Summerfest will return in 2022, after an absence of several years. The family-focused event is set for Thursday, June 16 through Sunday, June 19 on parish grounds at…
Skating is winter’s silver lining
Spread the loveBy Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com Hi everyone. As I write this, snowmageddon is raging outside. I’m not sure how many inches we have as of yet, or how many we will end up with; but I hope by the time you read this, we are…
Property tax bills due soon, Pappas says
Spread the loveFrom staff reports Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas recently mailed nearly 1.8 million Tax Year 2021 First Installment property tax bills. Payments are due March 1, 2022. The First Installment is 55% of the previous year’s total tax. Exemptions that can reduce a property owner’s taxes are applied to the Second Installment bill.…
Marchers welcome in St. Patrick’s Day parade
Spread the loveBy Tim Hadac Southwest Side organizations are welcome to march in the community’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, set for Saturday, March 12. It is anticipated that local schools, churches, Scout troops, youth athletic associations and others will have units in the parade. Units will have to register in advance with parade organizers.…
Neighbors
Boys Volleyball | Sandburg seeks 26th regional title
Spread the loveBy Randy Whalen Correspondent Coming off the worst season in program history in 2023, Sandburg was not going to settle for anything less than better results this year. Past the midway point of this season, however, the Eagles had a record of 11-8. But they closed the regular season strong, winning 11 of…
Baseball | Red-hot Reavis looks to make noise in postseason
Spread the loveBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Reavis is determined to send their head coach Don Erickson into retirement on a high note and will head into the postseason red hot and as South Suburban Red champions. The Rams defeated Oak Lawn 3-0 for the second straight day on May 15 to clinch the conference title.…
Sports Bits | Rice boats at Carlyle Lake, Hawkeye DB and Do It Stevie’s Way
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Noteworthy sports briefs from May 12-19 • Brother Rice’s No. 1 boat of Joe Hall and Joe Judeh took 31st in the state bass fishing tournament, which wrapped up on May 18 at Carlyle Lake. The Crusaders had a two-day haul of 7 pounds, 12 ounces. The Crusaders’ No.…
Nothing NU at SeatGeek
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent There was speculation that because of the renovations being done at Ryan Field, Northwestern would schedule a few football games at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview this fall. The Wildcats announced their schedule and no home games are listed at SeatGeek, but the situation is still fluid. They are opting…
College Softball | Close losses at nationals end Saint Xavier’s season
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Saint Xavier softball team played three nailbiters in the opening round of the NAIA Tournament. But the end result was a 1-2 record to eliminate the Cougars from advancing. SXU (28-14) opened the tournament by nipping Bellevue (Nebraska), 5-4, in Sioux City, Iowa on May 13. Alexus Reese…
Red Stars’ Naeher misses loss to Gotham
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The world’s best kept secret is still a mystery. The Chicago Red Stars are not releasing information to the public about the severity of a thigh injury or the status of world-class goalie Alyssa Naeher. What is known is that she did not play in a 2-1 loss to…
Summer calendar filling up quickly
Spread the love. By Patti Tyznik Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • ptyznik@gmail.com . Summer is rapidly approaching, and the neighborhood is geared up for lots of great summer fun and activities. The Midway Chamber of Commerce’s farmer’s market will be opening on Wednesdays at the end of May through September…
Shepard’s Kyla Motley cruises to two medals at girls state track finals
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Shepard junior Kyla Motley medaled in two events in the Class 3A girls state track and field meet, the finals for which were held May 18 at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. Motley finished fourth in the long jump with a leap of 18 feet, 4 inches. She finished…
Boys Tennis | Lyons’ Jack McLane and Mason Mazzone win sectional doubles title
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The area produced a handful of boys tennis state qualifiers, but only one entry is headed to state as a sectional champion. At the Class 2A Lyons Sectional, the Lions’ Jack McLane and Mason Mazzone were doubles champs. The state meet opens May 23 at various sites in the…
Water Polo | Lyons boys win third state title; girls finish 3rd
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The best matchup of the IHSA boys water polo state tournament was arguably in the quarterfinals. That battle between Lyons and New Trier could have been considered the real state championship match. But no matter what, the Lions are state champions. Heading into the postseason, Lyons had just three…