Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider Responds to House Passage of Extreme Late Term Abortion Bill

Moments ago, the Illinois House passed the Reproductive Health Act (House Amendment 1 to SB 25) stripping away restrictions for late term abortions. Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider released the following response:

“In just a few short years, the Democrat party in Illinois went from advocating ‘safe, legal and rare’ to abortion on-demand, at any time, for any reason, and funded by taxpayers. This is not the typical pro-life vs. pro-choice debate I have been accustomed to in my lifetime. The RHA goes much further. It’s an extreme bill that functionally eliminates any and all restrictions for the termination of a life up until the moment of birth. That is unconscionable and I urge the Senate and the Governor to reject this bill.”

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider 

Advocates have pushed the legislation under the dishonest guise of cleaning up statute language in light of court injunctions since the Illinois Abortion Act of 1975 was written. Chairman Schneider commented on the attempted gaslighting of the public, saying, “The abortion activists pushing this insidious bill are trying to say it’s about Trump, about the bill passed in Alabama, or simply pretending the bill is something it’s not. It’s a late term abortion bill. Period.”

Background – Late Term “Restrictions”, Other State Laws & Public Opinion

According to the bill, “restrictions” for late term abortions are for cases involving the “health of the patient” which is explicitly defined as virtually anything. The RHA states that the “health of the patient” is for situations “including, but not limited to, physical, emotional, psychological, and familial health and age.” This provision touted as late term abortion restrictions is just a paragraph explaining in plain language how there are no actual restrictions. 

Before the latest spate of pro-life bills were passed in Georgia, Alabama, and others, there were equally controversial bills expanding abortion rights passed or introduced in states like New York and Virginia. The context of the Illinois Reproductive Health Act is that it goes even further than places like New York. New York and others preserved statute language restricting abortions past the point of viability to those threatening the life and health of the mother. The Illinois RHA drops this pretense of late term abortion restriction as well as codifying into law the dehumanizing belief that a fetus – whether at one week or eight months gestation – “does not have independent rights under the laws of this State.” That radical belief exceeds the standards set in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Those two landmark cases recognized a legitimate state interest in protecting fetal rights after viability. 

It’s not just pro-life activists recognizing the extreme nature of the RHA. The bill squarely meets the definition of “extreme” according to public opinion. According to the latest numbers from Gallup in 2018, the percentage of people nationwide who believe abortion should be legal in the last three months of pregnancy is 13%. Compare that to the 81% of people who say it should be illegal. Any measure that seemingly has a good chance of becoming law and rejects the opinion of 81% of the public on a very hot-button issue is objectively far outside of the mainstream. That’s why the proponents are so aggressive in their misrepresentation of what the RHA actually does.

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider Responds to House Passage of Progressive Income Tax Constitutional Amendment

Monday, May 27, 2019

Just now on Memorial Day, Democratic lawmakers in the House passed a constitutional amendment to put a progressive income tax question on the ballot in 2020. Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider released the following statement in response :

“It’s disappointing, but not surprising, to see Democrat lawmakers decide that a blank check from Illinois taxpayers is the solution to our financial issues. It’s not surprising because it’s been their agenda for years. Raising taxes yet again and asking for more from the most overtaxed group of people in America is not a solution to our problems, it unfairly punishes taxpayers for problems they did not create. We need to reform the way we do government in Illinois before ever thinking about taking more from our hard working families.”

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider

Nathan Reitz Must Follow Jerry Costello’s Lead and Oppose the Graduated Income Tax

One of the last votes Nathan Reitz’s father, former State Rep. Dan Reitz, took was Madigan’s 2011 tax hike; now, Pritzker and Madigan want Nathan Reitz’s first vote to be yet another tax hike


“The fix is in. One of the last votes Nathan Reitz’s father, former State Rep. Dan Reitz, took was Mike Madigan’s 2011 tax hike. Now, Pritzker and Madigan want one of the first votes of Nathan Reitz to be yet another tax hike on Illinois families and small businesses. Tax-hiking is the Reitz family business. Reitz must follow Jerry Costello’s lead and oppose the Pritzker-Madigan-backed graduated income tax. If Reitz supports the tax hike, voters and taxpayers will make Reitz’s tenure in the General Assembly a short one.” – Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider


Moments ago, Democratic county chairmen in the 116th House District voted to appoint Nathan Reitz, son of former State Rep. Dan Reitz, to the vacancy created by former State Rep. Jerry Costello’s resignation. Costello resigned to take an appointment from Governor J.B. Pritzker in the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

J.B. Pritzker and Mike Madigan are looking for a vote in support of their tax-hiking agenda, and they think Nathan Reitz is their guy. One of the very first votes Reitz may take before the end of May is on a constitutional amendment to repeal Illinois’ flat income tax and authorize a graduated income tax. Jerry Costello was one of the first Democrats in the Illinois House of Representatives to oppose the graduated income tax.

Unfortunately, tax-hiking is the Reitz family business. One of the very last votes Nathan Reitz’s father, former State Rep. Dan Reitz, took was Mike Madigan’s 2011 tax hike. After voting for Madigan’s tax hike, Dan Reitz decided he would rather not seek re-election than face voters the following November. The Chicago Tribune Editorial Board published an editorial in 2012 on “tax-hiker” Dan Reitz and others for pushing false premises for the income tax hike.

Now, Pritzker and Madigan want one of Nathan Reitz’s first votes to be yet another tax hike on Illinois families and small businesses. Nathan Reitz must follow Jerry Costello’s lead and oppose the graduated income tax and all associated legislation. If Reitz supports the Pritzker-Madigan tax hike, voters and taxpayers will make Reitz’s tenure in the General Assembly a short one.

###

ILGOP Chairman Tim Schneider Statement On Illinois Senate Democrats’ Tax Hike Vote

Moments ago, Illinois Senate Democrats voted unanimously to put a referendum before Illinois voters in the 2020 General Election which, if passed, would repeal the flat income tax provision in the state constitution. Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider released the following statement in response:

“Today’s vote from Senate Democrats empowers J.B. Pritzker, Mike Madigan, and the Democrats in power to raise taxes and spend more instead of passing the economic reforms our state desperately needs. Giving politicians like Pritzker and Madigan a blank check to raise taxes will only make our state’s problems worse. Higher taxes, more borrowing, and increased spending – that is all Illinois Democrats have to offer, and taxpayers can’t afford it. They refuse to change, and we will make sure voters hold them accountable for it.”