Illinois legislators make mockery of democracy
Once again, Illinois politicians - particularly Mike Madigan and the Democratic Party - showed how crass and disrespectful they can be - but they reached a new low Memorial Day weekend.
Calling a special session on Sunday and Monday of Memorial Day weekend, Madigan and his cronies rammed through legislation knowing full well most people were away and that the media would be more focused on Memorial Day activities. This after doing nothing for months.
In typical Illinois political fashion, the state House took language from a controversial bill entitled the Reproductive Health Act that had been languishing in committee since early March and attached it to a Senate bill that had already passed the Senate and just needed to be approved by the House.
The original bill (HB 2495) would lift all previous restrictions on abortions and allow abortions to be performed carte blanche - up to the moment of birth. This hideous bill will allow non-doctor personnel to perform abortions and have no standards or regulations for clinics to follow.
What's worse, the original bill had much opposition - over 20,000 witness slips being filed in opposition while only 1,800 were filed in favor.
It's bad enough that our state government is dysfunctional, but this takes the cake. What particularly is galling is that these politicians did their shenanigans on Memorial Day - one of the most important days of the year, when we honor those who have served and sacrificed to keep our country free. It was a slap in the face to all those who have served - particularly those from Illinois.
It's another illustration why Illinois is in such a bad state and why people are leaving in droves. I'll be one of them soon.
Gerry Bliss
Elk Grove Village