3 Aurora aldermen take action on notification law

When it comes to parental notification, three Aurora aldermen won't wait around.

Chris Beykirch, Rick Lawrence and Richard Irvin are so intent on pushing through a resolution urging the state to pass a workable notification law, they decided to hold a special meeting of their own committee -- building, grounds and infrastructure -- to approve it.

The move comes a day after the resolution was held for three weeks at the government operations committee, with acting Chairwoman Stephanie Kifowit saying she wanted time to do more homework.

Beykirch, who heads the building, grounds and infrastructure committee, is calling a special meeting for 3 p.m. Friday at the Alderman's Office, 60 E. Downer Place. Irvin and Lawrence are the only other committee members.

The resolution is the agenda's sole item.

The move has raised some eyebrows among leaders, including Kifowit.

"It's a little disrespectful," she said. "Let our committee do our job, so we can forward something that is well thought-up and well researched (to the full city council)."

"A non-binding resolution in no way needs to be researched by Alderman Kifowit," Beykirch said.

City spokesman Carie Anne Ergo said according to municipal code, the BGI committee is not authorized by the council to hear the parental notification issue. As a legislative piece, it falls under the jurisdiction of government operations.

While the BGI committee can call a meeting, "the city has no obligation to consider an item that is outside BGI's jurisdiction," she said.

The same resolution also can't be before two committees at the same time, she said.

Lawrence, Beykirch and Irvin plan to propose a law requiring doctors to alert parents at least 48 hours before performing a medical procedure on a minor.

They still are creating the ordinance, but said the first step is to pass a resolution urging the state to enforce its own law for minors seeking abortions.

A federal court has blocked that law, passed in 1995, from taking effect. The matter has been challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union and is before a judge.

At Tuesday's meeting, Kifowit said she wanted to check the status of the state's law and refer the resolution to the city's legal department for review. Parental notification wasn't on the agenda for a vote, she said -- just discussion.

"They gave me nothing concrete as to why this issue can't be properly researched," she said.

Protecting children is too important to "sit around and play games with," Lawrence said Wednesday.

The resolution is a simple, non-binding one, he said, and many go before the full council without ever being in a committee at all.

"It's absolutely ridiculous," he said of the delay.

In a letter Beykirch sent to officials, he wrote, "I know of no time where a non-binding resolution has been purposefully stopped from being voted for such apparent political reasons."

Supporters also plan to forward the resolution to state leaders and invite neighboring towns to sign on.

After it's approved on Friday, the resolution could be forwarded to the committee of the whole for a full council vote. That committee next meets Nov. 6.

Ergo said it's unclear what will happen next. "We're not sure what will play out in the next few days," she said. "But certainly this is something we'd hope the aldermen would work out."