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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Illinois's transformation from one of the most anti-choice states in the country into an island of abortion access and reproductive rights in the post-Roe moment has often been held out as a model for the country, and a testament to the driving force of abortion rights in electoral politics. We at Personal PAC know that this transformation has been decades in the making with many hard-fought battles, and even harder-won victories along the way.
We understand that the position that we are in now, in 2024, with a pro-choice supermajority in both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly and one of the most unabashedly pro-choice governors leading our state did not come by accident. We came to this position through a sharp understanding of the threats posed by the anti-abortion movement in Illinois and a laser-focused strategy on how to oppose them. We cannot be complacent--every election, every cycle counts.
In 2024, the threats to abortion rights and access look different than they did even a handful of years ago. The anti-abortion movement is pursuing every avenue and strategy with a relentless pace--throwing lawsuits at state and federal courts, running anti-abortion candidates in local down-ballot races, and "protesting" abortion providers and clinics with a heightened level of vitriol, including in Chicago and Illinois.
There is also a growing threat of "Crisis Pregnancy Centers" (CPCs) which has received renewed attention in 2023, and rightfully so. CPCs outnumber real abortion providers in Illinois by 3-to-1 and are growing their presence in our state.
At Personal PAC, we have developed an offensive strategy to organize strategic local communities in three pockets of the state. We know that if we do not counter the threats that the anti-abortion movement poses with a clear offensive strategy and shore up local protections for abortion providers and those who are seeking abortions, we will find ourselves in a very precarious position in very short order.
Below we have detailed the current threats posed by the anti-abortion movement, as well as the opportunities for organizing at the local, regional, and statewide levels.
SANCTUARY CITIES FOR THE UNBORN & LOCAL ELECTION OPPORTUNITIES
SANCTUARY CITIES FOR THE UNBORN & LOCAL ELECTION OPPORTUNITIES
above: SCFTU founder Mark Lee Dickson
“Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn,” is a national effort led by Mark Lee Dickson (a pastor from Texas) to pass anti-abortion ordinances through local city councils and county boards.
Such ordinances have been passed in 6 counties & 67 cities. The last one passed was Danville, Illinois. When local advocates in Danville alerted Personal PAC to Dickson’s presence in their community we quickly mobilized pro-choice supporters to contact their aldermen and show up for the City Council vote. Our organizing efforts brought the vote to a 7-7 tie, with hundreds of pro-choice supporters in the room and outside the building. The Mayor of Danville broke the tie to pass this unlawful ordinance.
Dickson has since traveled to ten additional cities in Illinois, including Quincy, Illinois where Personal PAC was there to meet him.
Once again, local residents and grassroots leaders on the ground in Quincy came to us, and we provided them the support and tools to organize their own community. Together, we organized 400 residents to sign our petition opposing the ordinance, and we outnumbered the anti-abortion protestors 2-1 at the city council meeting.
On Oct. 10, 2023 Personal PAC beat back this next attempt to pass an abortion ban through the Quincy City Council.
Anti-abortion activists like Dickson look at Illinois and see communities that are vulnerable to their particular brand of agitation. Where the state surrounding Illinois have passed bans and severe restrictions on abortion care, Illinois has seen a 70% increase in abortions post-Roe. And yet outside of Chicago, Cook County, and a handful of other municipalities, clinics that are operating or looking to operate in central and southern Illinois are doing so without protection and support from local leaders. Personal PAC has an opportunity to organize around local mayoral, county board, and city council races to elect pro-choice leaders who will counteract Dickson and his efforts and pass affirmative protections for abortion clinics. In Danville, we have already recruited three pro-choice candidates to run for county board seats in 2024.
In 2024 and 2025 we have identified three regions, each with a high concentration of pro-choice voters, and dozens of opportunities to elect pro-choice leaders.
SCHOOL BOARD RACES & COMPREHENSIVE SEX EDUCATION
SCHOOL BOARD RACES & COMPREHENSIVE SEX EDUCATION
School board and library board elections have seen a rise of candidates running throughout Illinois under the banner of national organizations like Moms for Liberty and 1776 PAC (funded by Richard Uihlein), and Illinois-based organizations like Awake IL and Wirepoints. In the 2023 April elections, most of the candidates running with the support and endorsement of these extreme organizations were defeated, but we know that this is a well-funded movement that will persist through multiple election cycles.
In 2023 we did not have the resources to fully research the districts in Illinois that were most vulnerable, or test offensive strategies. But in 2024, the City of Chicago will transition to an elected school board model, and we know that we will continue to see campaigns around book banning, “critical race theory,” and attacks on LGBTQ+ rights and comprehensive sex education play out.
In 2024 and 2025 we will need to stay vigilant and aware of how subtle anti-abortion messaging is entering local school board races and counter it when necessary.
We must be outspoken and organize against this harmful and coordinated campaign (see the "Right to Parent" initiative below) that is weaponizing love and concern for children to undo the civil and reproductive rights victories we have won.
CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTERS
CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTERS
Of the 102 counties in Illinois, 42 have no abortion access whatsoever but have at least one "crisis pregnancy center" (CPC). These organizations are often run by or otherwise funded by religious groups. They do not employ licensed medical professionals, and yet they present themselves as "women's health centers," and will mislead or outright deceive pregnant people with regard to their health information. In some cases, unlicensed staff will perform ultrasounds (including vaginal ultrasounds) as part of their efforts to prevent people from seeking abortion care. In fact, the express mission of CPCs is to prevent as many people as possible from accessing abortion and they will manipulate, shame, and deceive people along the way.
We see an opportunity to organize around the issue of CPCs in local communities, first in making residents and leaders aware of their true mission, and second in generating formal complaints for the Attorney General's office, in cases where their practices cross the line into illegality.
THE ‘RIGHT TO PARENT’ BALLOT INITIATIVE
THE ‘RIGHT TO PARENT’ BALLOT INITIATIVE
A group calling themselves the “Parents Matter Coalition” has proposed a statewide Advisory Question of Public Policy on the “Right to Parent.” Their proposed language is as follows:
Shall the written consent from a minor’s parent or guardian be required before any entity, person, clinic or school can provide a minor (under the age of 18 years) any non-emergency medical procedure, medication, pharmaceutical, or any gender modification procedure, gender identification counseling or gender therapy?
Should the effort receive the required number of signatures, the question will appear on the ballot on the General Election Day in November 2024.
Parents Matter Coalition Spokesperson Mary Kate Zander has given the following rationale:
“Minors often need parent permission – to get their ears pierced, to go on field trips, and to purchase medication, for example. It is common sense that they should also require parental consent when making major medical decisions, like the decision to take hormone blockers or to obtain an abortion."
This is an express threat on the 2021 Youth Health and Safety Act, which repealed parental notification for minors to obtain an abortion in Illinois, one of Personal PAC's landmark legislative victories.
We have seen these anti-abortion attacks couched in the language of “parents' rights” for years, often lumped in with anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and "critical race theory."
The formalization of this "Parents Matter Coalition," is particularly concerning when viewed alongside the recent school board races and growing efforts of extremist groups like Awake Illinois to organize in local elections. This is a statewide, direct attack on reproductive and LGBTQ rights right here in Illinois. Should this question make it onto the November 2024 ballot we will have to run a very extensive VOTE NO campaign.
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