State lawmakers unsure when special session on abortion will happen

(The Center Square) – It’s still unclear when a special session of the Illinois General Assembly would take place to take up more action on access to abortion.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and return the issue of abortion back to states was handed down on June 24. That didn’t impact Illinois’ laws concerning access to abortion, which includes ending the requirement parents be notified if their minor daughter is getting an abortion.

That same day, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said a special session was coming.

“I am informing the General Assembly that I will be calling them into special session in the coming weeks, to more firmly protect women’s reproductive rights in Illinois,” Pritzker said.

State Rep. William Davis, D-Hazel Crest, told The Center Square this week no date has been set.

“The governor has indicated that he will call a special session on this,” Davis said. “We do not have a timeline for that yet.”

Davis said the “objective will be to go and pass legislation that will protect the rights of women here in the state of Illinois.”

State Rep. Mike Marron, R-Fithian, told The Center Square that the session is focusing on the wrong issues. He said Illinois already has very loose restrictions on abortion.

“If Democrats had their priorities straight they would call us back into session to enact permanent tax relief for Illinoisans facing budget crises in their household budgets due to inflation caused by their irresponsible and out of touch energy policies,” Marron said.

After Pritzker’s news conference announcing the prospect of a special session last month, Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods, issued the following statement.

“While the Governor is calling a special session to act on these and potentially other extreme measures, Illinoisans are trying to deal with soaring gas prices and massive grocery bills that are leaving families hopeless,” McChonchie said. “Instead of dealing with these vital issues, Pritzker is embracing an extreme agenda that will make Illinois an outlier even amongst the most liberal states.”

Two weeks after the announcement, no date has been scheduled for the special session.

“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,” a joint statement from Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, and Pritzker said this week. “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. 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.”

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