State Democrats say they intend to call a special session “in the coming weeks” in reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe vs. Wade, but they didn’t give an exact date on when that session would be scheduled.
Governor J.B. Pritzker first announced his plan for a special session on June 24th, the same day the U.S. Supreme Court released a decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that legalized abortion nationwide.
Yesterday, in a released joint statement by Pritzker and Illinois House Speaker Emmanuel “Chris” Welch and Illlinois Senate President Don Harmon, the group said it would take the “remainder of the summer” to craft policies before lawmakers return to the Capitol. The statement said the Democratic lawmakers also wanted to get a sense of the state’s needs as they assess the effects of the overturning of the decision.
Lawmakers had anticipated on returning to Springfield this week.