Even with the Supreme Court's ruling to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision on abortion, the procedures remain legal under Illinois law and might even expand if Democrats remain in office, state Sen. Darren Bailey, who is running for the GOP nomination for governor in Tuesday's primary, told Newsmax on Saturday.
"Twenty-three years ago, Illinois codified into law that abortion was a medical procedure; so until we get the majority back here in Illinois, we're kind of stuck," Bailey told "Saturday Report." "Our governor, J.B. Pritzker, is calling for a special [legislative] session here in about two weeks to protect abortion rights and even open the door up to provide more funds and more resources for people to come to Illinois to have an abortion. We've got a lot of serious issues here that we're facing."
Bailey, speaking to Newsmax before former President Donald Trump's rally at the Adams County Fairgrounds outside Quincy on Saturday night, said there was rejoicing in his state among people who have been waiting in anticipation for years for the court to return decisions on abortion to the states, but said that means there remains a "lot of work ahead of us" in Illinois to stop legal abortions in the state.
"I am endorsed by all of the pro-life and pro-family groups here in Illinois," he said, adding that if he is elected and Republicans regain the state legislative majority, taxpayer-funded abortions will stop "immediately."
"Here in Illinois, a 12-year-old can get an abortion without her parents knowing anything about it," Bailey said. "We will fight to end that. Interestingly enough, as Cindy and I have traveled the state and gotten to know many good people in Chicago, especially getting into the churches, we've come upon a novel idea to make abortion unnecessary. We will begin involving churches, religious groups, civic organizations to give pregnant women real choices. And I'm looking forward to that and spearheading that to make abortion unnecessary under the current makeup and laws here."
Bailey said he will also fight against soft-on-crime leaders such as Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and he believes he has been propelled to the lead spot in the gubernatorial race because 13 years ago when he was elected to the House, he started pushing back against the establishment.
"I found out the establishment wasn't just the Democrats; but many times, it was people on our side of the aisle," Bailey said. "So I sued Gov. Pritzker in June of 2021 over these egregious lockdowns, and then that began to propel us and gave us some notoriety across the state."
He added his campaign has been traveling across Illinois to bring hope to the people.
"We've got three big problems here," he said. "We've got to bring safety back to our streets. We've got to restore education for our children. And we've got to support working families so that men and women families can live, work and thrive here in Illinois again."
However, in January 2021, the "SAFE-T Act" was passed, which "stripped the right of police and law enforcement," giving more rights to criminals, Bailey said.
"Here in Illinois, we have no cash bail," he said. "That was taken away. So we've got a lot of work to do. The good thing is the people of Illinois. They realize what the problem is that what was taken away and changed must be restored, and they certainly know who did it: J.B. Pritzker from the Democrats."
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.