Dupage Policy Journal

Former Republican legislator Jeanne Ives criticized Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot after announcing that additional funding for abortions would be provided despite existing issues in Chicago.

In the wake of the Supreme Court's leaked draft advocating overturning Roe v. Wade, many legislators have been on high alert regarding abortion rights in their states. On Monday (May 9), Lightfoot and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced that they would allocate $500,000 to be used for people traveling from other states to Chicago to undergo abortions if they cannot legally do so in their home states, according to a press release. Now, that decision is being criticized by domestic Republicans.

"An estimated 400,000 homes in Chicago have unsafe lead water pipes, but Lightfoot wants to fund abortions for people from out of state," Ives said in a Facebook post on Monday. "You have to be an idiot and REALLY not care about Chicagoans if you think this is acceptable."

According to the Chicago Tribune, Illinois has some of the most lenient abortion laws in the country and often sees thousands of women from different states coming to Illinois for abortions every year. In 2020, more than 36,000 Illinois women had abortions, while almost 10,000 out-of-state women traveled to Illinois for abortions. 

“Through this investment, my administration is reaffirming our commitment to ensure safe access for anyone seeking safe reproductive health care. That includes access to transportation, lodging, care, and if necessary, safe and legal access to an abortion procedure," Lightfoot said in her press release. “All people, regardless of race, sex, age, income or immigration status deserve to have access to health care, and that includes reproductive rights and the choice to decide over their own bodies.”

Even if Roe v. Wade is overturned, Illinois's abortion laws will not change, leading politicians like Ives to criticize Lightfoot's decision to allocate a large sum of money to those services. Numbers reported by the Chicago Sun-Times found that almost 400,000 drinking water lines in Chicago are contaminated with lead. As part of her campaign, Lightfoot promised to replace hundreds of the lines but had only replaced 20 of them in 2020. In 2021, she blamed former mayor Rahm Emmanuel for failing to replace the lines initially.