Illinois
Massachusetts, Illinois governors call on Congress to protect access to birth control
Gov. Maura Healey and her counterpart from Illinois are calling on Congress to safeguard the right to access and use contraception like birth control pills and IUDs, a move they say takes on added significance this election year.
As the two-year anniversary approaches of the Supreme Court ruling that struck down the constitutional right to an abortion, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to bring a bill dubbed the “Right to Contraception Act” to the floor for a vote Wednesday. Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey is among its lead sponsors.
Healey and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, both Democrats, stressed in a virtual press conference Monday how the future of reproductive rights are at stake in the upcoming presidential election.
Last month, presumptive Republican nominee for president Donald Trump suggested he was open to restrictions on birth control, then walked those comments back.
Healey called it “remarkable” that Trump “said that he’s even looking at restricting access to contraception.”
“I think all we have to do is look at his track record when he was president to know what he will do if elected,” Healey said. “Again, I was attorney general during the Trump years, and I can tell you firsthand, Donald Trump gutted Title X family planning funding. This caused nearly a thousand clinics to shut down across the country, and it took away access to health care, including contraception, in those communities and for low-income people around the country.”
Healey serves on an advisory board for President Joe Biden’s reelection bid. Democrats are positioning reproductive rights as a key campaign issue.
“Democrats will never relent until we reverse the immense damage MAGA Republicans and the Supreme Court have inflicted, and we remain absolutely committed to doing everything we can to protect women, families and reproductive freedom,” Schumer wrote in a letter to colleagues, suggesting more legislative action to come.
A vote in the Senate, Healey said, will put Republicans on record on the issue of contraception. She and Pritzker called for American voters to hold those lawmakers accountable.
“Republicans cannot hide from this issue any longer,” Pritzker said. “Voters deserve to know where every single Republican stands on the right to contraception. And if they vote no, they need to answer why.”
Both governors also outlined steps their states have taken to protect reproductive health care, including birth control.
In Massachusetts, Healey said, state law allows people to obtain a year’s worth of contraceptives at once, emergency contraception is available at no-cost, and most health insurance plans must provide copay-free coverage for at least one option of each type of birth control.
A law Healey signed last year also expanded pharmacists’ authority to prescribe and dispense certain hormonal birth control, including patches and pills, without first requiring a doctor’s prescription.
“I think this is just common sense, and I think most everybody understands that because being able to decide if and when to use contraception and what type to use, it’s essential — for women’s health, for women’s economic mobility, which then includes their families’ economic mobility, and fundamentally for freedom,” Healey said.
CHICAGO — Three days before hosting their biggest game at Soldier Field in years, the Chicago Bears are exploring moving outside the city for which they are named.
In an open letter to fans Wednesday evening, team president and CEO Kevin Warren said the Bears will explore other locations — including outside of Cook County, where the team owns a 326-acre property in Arlington Heights, Illinois — to build a domed stadium.
That includes moving the Bears out of Illinois altogether.
“In addition to Arlington Park, we need to expand our search and critically evaluate opportunities throughout the wider Chicagoland region, including Northwest Indiana,” Warren said. “This is not about leverage. We spent years trying to build a new home in Cook County. We invested significant time and resources evaluating multiple sites and rationally decided on Arlington Heights.
“Our fans deserve a world-class stadium. Our players and coaches deserve a venue that matches the championship standard they strive for every day. With that in mind, our organization must keep every credible pathway open to deliver that future.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker pushed back against a potential move of the team out of the state.
“Suggesting the Bears would move to Indiana is a startling slap in the face to all the beloved and loyal fans who have been rallying around the team during this strong season,”Pritzker spokesperson Matt Hill said in a statement. “The Governor’s a Bears fan who has always wanted them to stay in Chicago. He has also said that ultimately they are a private business.”
The Bears purchased the Arlington Park property that formerly housed the Arlington International Racecourse for $197 million in 2023, shortly before Warren replaced Ted Phillips as team president and CEO. The Bears proposed building a 60,000-seat fixed-roof stadium within a $5 billion mixed-use development.
Not long after closing on the land in Arlington Heights, the team began exploring options for a new stadium site when it announced its plans to build at the Arlington Park site were “at risk” as negotiations over property taxes reached a $100 million impasse.
Shortly before the 2024 draft, the Bears shifted their focus to building their new stadium on the lakefront south of Soldier Field and announced they would invest more than $2 billion in private money into the construction and development of the stadium and surrounding areas.
Although the team has maintained that the construction of a new stadium will be privately funded, concerns over the burden placed on taxpayers to fund the infrastructure around the stadium led to an impasse. That led the Bears to explore Arlington Heights once again as an option, which Warren announced during league meetings in April. Ahead of the Bears’ home opener against theMinnesota Vikingson Sept. 8, Warren released a letter to fans, saying the team’s sights were set on building in Arlington Heights. He has said throughout the year that the goal was to break ground before the end of 2025.
However, the Bears have been in a battle with lawmakers over tax breaks and securing $855 million in public funding for costs related to building the new stadium.
“We have not asked for state taxpayer dollars to build the stadium at Arlington Park,” Warren said. “We asked only for a commitment to essential local infrastructure [roads, utilities, and site improvements], which is more than typical for projects of this size. Additionally, we sought reasonable property tax certainty to secure financing. We listened to state leadership and relied on their direction and guidance, yet our efforts have been met with no legislative partnership.”
The Bears’ current lease at Soldier Field runs through 2033. On Saturday night, the 10-4 Bears will host the Green Bay Packers in a high-stakes meeting that will heavily determine Chicago’s path to the postseason.br/]
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Wednesday, December 17, 2025 6:44PM
CHICAGO (WLS) — There’s still time to get a gift under the tree that is made in Illinois.
ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch
The Illinois Office of Tourism is out with its “Illinois-Made Holiday Gift Guide.”
Seventeen small businesses from across the state are featured.
From soap, to popcorn, to fudge and coffee, there are some great ideas.
Kribi Coffee Air Roastery, Garrett Popcorn Shops, The Fudge Pot and Soapy Roads are some of the brands featured in the list.
To see the full guide, click here.
Copyright © 2025 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (KWQC) – The IHSA football playoffs will be expanding by 50 percent in 2026.
IHSA member schools approved an amendment to expand the playoffs from 32 teams per class to 48.
There will still be 8 classifications increasing the total number of playoff teams from 256 to 384.
As a result of the change, the start of the season will be moved up by a week in August to allow the season to still finish with State Championship games the week of Thanksgiving.
Copyright 2025 KWQC. All rights reserved.
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