Disappointing news from Springfield

You may recall a post sometime back in which I noted that Illinois State Representative David Reis (R) introduced House Resolution 417 which we remove State funding to Planned Parenthood of $5 million each year.

Yesterday I received a letter from Representative Reis (pronounced Rice) dated June 4th. He writes:

I am pleased to inform you that, although there is still much work to be done in Springfield regarding our budget, the House was successful in preventing the abortion expansion bill, HB 2354 - otherwise misleadingly referred to as teh Reproductive Health and Access Act - from passing during this year's General Assembly Spring Session.

Thanks to vocal opposition from mindful citizens such as you, this legislation never garnered enough support to be called to a vote. In addition, reacting to th fiscal crisis that the democrats have placed in our state in, I filed House Resolution 417 asking the General Assembly to cease its funding of Planned Parenthood abortion clinics in Illinois which have received over $25 million from the state over the last five years.

While this resolution was blockd by the sponsor of HB 2354, majority leader Barbara Flynn Currie, I believe it sent a strong message that we should not and can not [sic] support immoral operations such as this while our friends and neighbors in need are being denied services. I am also continuing to fight to implement more stringent parental notification requirements that were passed in a 1995 bill but have since been stalled on technicalities....

Keep up the good work, Mr. Reis!

Kudos to Representative Reis

It is always heartening to hear of politicians who not only have a good deal of common sense but also a good morality and guts.

State Representative David Reis of Illinois - whose district I am in - has recently urged his fellow legislators to remove funding for Planned Parenthood from the State budget. In the past five years, Illinois has given $25 million to the nation's largest provider of abortions.

In a letter to his colleagues, Representative Reis said:

Whatever your views on abortion, the fact remains that the government, while trying to regain a steady financial foothold, should focus on providing financial assistance for basic, vital healthcare needs to those who need it most and that will affect the most citizens, not subsidize a controversial operation that has no problem raising money under its own accord... During these times of financial uncertainly and governmental belt-tightening, I hope you would agree that a more prudent way in which to spend our precious tax dollars would be pay our current healthcare obligations that provide healthcare for all Illinoisans.

Well done, Representative Reis! Please, if you are an Illinoisas with a different representative, encourage them to support this endeavor. If you are na Illinoisan in Representative Reis' district, be sure to thank you.

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