Chicago — Attorney General Kwame Raoul today issued the following statement after sending a letter to the mayor of Danville about the ordinance the mayor signed that ignores the Illinois Reproductive Health Act, but is not in effect and will not take effect based on a last-minute amendment.
“After stepping up to the brink of open defiance of state law, I am relieved that the city of Danville heard the concerns I raised in the letter I sent earlier this week and those raised by fellow advocates. Ultimately, after a last-minute amendment, the City Council decided to pass an amended ordinance that, by its own terms, is not in effect and will not take effect.
“Even if the city’s ordinance is merely symbolic, I do not want it to instill fear and confusion. Let me be clear: all residents of Illinois continue to enjoy the fundamental rights guaranteed to them under state law, and my office will continue to ensure that all localities in the state understand that access to reproductive health care is a fundamental right in Illinois.
“Illinois law could not be clearer. Our state is a proud safe haven for access to reproductive health care that respects bodily autonomy and fundamental rights. The Reproductive Health Act states that units of local government cannot limit abortion rights, and Danville has no authority under Illinois law to enact a municipal abortion ban or to otherwise impose its own restrictions on access to abortion care.
“As I said in the letter I sent to the mayor of Danville today, any future attempt by the city of Danville to restrict the fundamental right to access abortion care would be a violation of Illinois law and will not go unchallenged.”
