SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is touting landmark legislation that aims to further protect women’s reproductive rights.
Giannoulias says House Bill 3326 prohibits automatic license plate readers, a tool to help police catch speeders and carjackers, to be used to track someone seeking abortion care.
“With this first of its kind legislation, Illinois is drawing the line in the sand. We will not allow people to be targeted for visiting our state to procure legal, legal health care,” Giannoulias says.
The license plate readers also couldn’t be used to keep tabs on a person due to their immigration status. The bill still needs to be signed into law by Gov. J-B Pritzker.
Planned Parenthood of Illinois announced during Thursday’s new conference that they will reopen the Peoria clinic that was firebombed in January.
Tyler Massengill of Chillicothe pleaded guilty in federal court to placing a Molotov Cocktail at the Planned Parenthood Clinic on Knoxville Avenue. He’s scheduled to be sentenced on July 6, facing up to 20 years in prison.
Planned Parenthood’s Jennifer Welch says the decision to reopen the Peoria facility sends a message that the organization will not give in to extremists.