Health Care

Chicago Tribune reporter Rick Pearson, center, speaks with House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch, right, and House Republican Leader Tony McCombie on April 27, 2023, in Springfield. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch Doesn’t Rule Out Putting Abortion Rights on 2024 Ballot

April 30, 2023

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch on Wednesday vowed there wouldn’t be another attempt to ask voters to approve a graduated-rate income tax, but did not rule out putting a proposed constitutional amendment codifying a women’s right to…

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Allyson Nogaj leads the “Fascist Judges: Keep Your Hands Off Abortion Medication” nationwide protest along the streets of downtown Chicago on April 15, 2023. (Shanna Madison / Chicago Tribune)

‘This is a wake-up call,’ Chicago Loop Protestors Rally Against Abortion Rights Restrictions, Mifepristone Ruling

April 18, 2023

Demonstrators rallied through downtown Chicago’s Loop Saturday afternoon to protest the wave of restrictions to abortion access emerging across the country. Thousands of passersby turned to watch as around 80 protesters shouting chants and beating drums marched up State Street…

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About six months after the Highland Park mass shooting, Illinois lawmakers advanced a bill to ban assault weapons.

Illinois House Votes to Ban Assault Weapons and Broaden Abortion Protections

January 10, 2023

Tackling two hot-button issues, the Illinois House debated early into Friday morning and ultimately voted to ban military-style guns like the one used in the Highland Park mass shooting and to protect abortion providers and patients from out-of-state legal repercussions.…

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That legislative push helped turn Illinois into a national leader in reproductive healthcare. It is also likely to soon make it a refuge for people in states as far away as Texas, who will face even less access to abortion if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, as it is expected to do.

“People Woke Up and Realized This Is Real”: Blue State Are Readying for a Post-Roe World.

June 10, 2022

Kelly Cassidy saw this day coming. Some of her colleagues in the Illinois state general assembly thought she was being “hyperbolic,” she says — maybe even “hysterical.” But the Chicago Democrat, a longtime reproductive rights advocate, saw the “fertile seeds”…

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Democrats for the Illinois House Take a Stand Video

Democrats for the Illinois House Take a Stand for Women’s Reproductive Rights

April 1, 2022

Chicago, IL – In the final week of Women’s History Month, Democrats in the Illinois House took a stand for women across the state with the passage of House Bill 1464– codifying the state’s unwavering support for access to reproductive…

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