Late Wednesday afternoon, HB 40 passed in the Illinois State Senate by a vote of 33-22. Thirty votes are needed for passage in the Illinois Senate. This bill was passed with a party-line vote by the Democratic majority without one Republican vote, and four Democrats not voting on this controversial proposal.
Click HERE to see how your state senator voted on this legislation, or look at the graphic below. (Look up your state elected officials HERE.)
Just a few weeks ago, on April 25th, it was passed by the Illinois House by a vote of 62-55.
Now that it has passed in both chambers, Governor Bruce Rauner will have 60 days to keep his pledge to veto it, once it reaches his desk. If he does nothing, it automatically becomes law.
**UPDATE: A motion to reconsider has been made, which delays the process, however, we fully expect HB 40 being sent to the governor’s desk, despite political posturing and tactical schemes.
IFI’s concerns remain:
HB 40 forces taxpayers to pay for Medicaid abortions. In 1977, there were over 12,7000 taxpayer-funded Medicaid abortions. Based on the increased number of new Medicaid recipients in the last 5 years, Illinois taxpayers could be forced to pay for over 15,000 abortions per year.
HB 40 removes the policy statement in the Abortion Law of 1975, that an unborn child is a person.
HB 40 adds abortion coverage to state employees’ insurance plans which, as taxpayers, you also pay for.
HB 40 targets minorities. Blacks make up 30%, Latinos – 16% and Asians – 5% of the Medicaid recipients in Illinois. Combined, they are 51% of the Medicaid recipients.
HB 40 is a spending bill that expands entitlements. Illinois owes $10 billion in unpaid bills with tens of billions more in unfunded liabilities. Illinois has the lowest credit rating in the nation because we can’t pay our bills.
It’s outrageous that Illinois lawmakers would spend money we don’t have to kill unborn children!
Take ACTION: Click Here to email Governor Bruce Rauner. Urge him to keep his pledge to veto HB 40. Also, call the governor’s public comment lines: (217) 782-0244 and (312) 814-2121.
How Did They Vote?
