McHenry Times

Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie has criticized Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) for ignoring pressing issues including inflation and rising fuel costs and instead is focusing on abortion even though it remains legal in Illinois. 

McConchie took to social media to express his frustrations with Pritzker shortly after the Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade, returning power to the states to determine the legality of abortion, according to CNBC.

"Let me be clear, Governor Pritzker and many Illinois Democrats want to push Illinois to the utter extreme on abortion policy. Right now, Illinoisans can already get an abortion in all nine months of pregnancy for any reason and use taxpayer dollars to pay for it. But that is not enough," McConchie wrote in a statement posted on Facebook. "Now, they want us to help pay for out-of-state residents to travel to Illinois to receive abortions and even allow non-physicians here to perform them."

In a statement, Pritzker vowed to protect the right the safe, accessible reproductive health care and called for the General Assembly to meet in a special session in order for the legislature to "further enshrine our commitment to reproductive health care rights and protections."

"In Illinois, we've planned for this terrible day, an enormous step backward and a shattering loss of rights," Pritzker wrote in the statement. 

McConchie added Pritzker's call for a special session to take up abortion laws, instead of addressing the issues impacting Illinoisans every day, proves he's out of touch.

"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. 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," McConchie said in the statement. 

Illinois has some of the most relaxed abortion laws in the country. The Chicago Tribune reported that thousands of women from different states come to the Prairie State to undergo the procedure each year. In 2020, more than 36,000 Illinois women had abortions, while almost 10,000 women from outside the state traveled to Illinois to have an abortion.

According to News Channel 20, Illinois taxpayers have funded an increased number of abortions since House Bill 40 passed in 2018. Taxpayers footed the bill for 1,561 abortions in the first six months of that same year, including one for a 12-year-old girl. 

According to AAA, the average cost for a gallon of regular gas as of June 27 in Illinois was $5.43, which is up from $3.29 one year ago. The average cost for a gallon of gas in McHenry County was recorded at $5.15.