Illinois

Illinois abortion providers see demand, wait times rise a month after Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade

Published

2 years ago

July 23, 2022

Illinois abortion providers see demand, wait times rise a month after Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade

Prior to now, when somebody was looking for an abortion in Illinois, the Midwest Entry Coalition may need urged getting one within the southern a part of the state, the place resorts are cheaper.

That’s turning into much less of an choice for the group, which supplies monetary, emotional and logistical assist for getting an abortion. That’s due to longer waits for appointments, stated Alison Dreith, the coalition’s director of strategic partnerships.

“Now, we will’t try this as a result of there’s simply no promise of an appointment,” Dreith stated. “Individuals are simply having to journey a lot, a lot additional. The price of journey proper now’s absurd.”

Within the month because the Supreme Courtroom overturned the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide, out-of-state demand has hit southern Illinois notably arduous. Waits on the Deliberate Parenthood clinic in downstate Fairview Heights have risen from three to 4 days beforehand to so long as three weeks, stated Bonyen Lee-Gilmore of Deliberate Parenthood of the St. Louis Area and Southwest Missouri, which operates one in every of two clinics that carry out abortions in that a part of the state.

“We’re actually holding again the dam of sufferers who’re coming from the South and the decrease Midwest,” stated Lee-Gilmore, who stated the clinic is making an attempt to verify nobody will get turned away.

In different components of Illinois, there are indicators of a rising demand. Abortion stays authorized in Illinois, and officers are looking for federal funds in anticipation of seeing extra demand from out of state for abortions.

That already was taking place even earlier than the excessive courtroom’s ruling within the Dobbs v. Jackson case.

Protesters in Bronzeville earlier this month maintain banners supporting abortion entry.

Elizabeth Rymut / Solar-Occasions

In 2015, out-of-staters accounted for 3,210 abortions in Illinois, in response to the Illinois Division of Public Well being. By 2020, the newest figures obtainable, that quantity was 9,686.

Lee-Gilmore stated that, in latest weeks, the downstate Deliberate Parenthood group has seen a rise in abortions previous 15 weeks of being pregnant — an indication, she stated, it could be taking longer to get an abortion.

“We’re in a state of a public well being emergency,” she stated, calling for extra state funding and different modifications to increase the variety of suppliers that may carry out abortions.

Deliberate Parenthood of Illinois, which operates clinics round Chicago, often has about 100 appointments for out-of-state sufferers a month. That quantity rose to just about 750 within the week after Roe v. Wade was overturned, stated Dr. Amy Whitaker, chief medical officer for the group. The variety of calls its clinics acquired doubled within the days after the ruling.

On the Deliberate Parenthood clinic in Waukegan, the variety of sufferers has risen tenfold, and in Flossmoor it’s 3 times what it beforehand was, Whitaker stated.

She stated the clinics are seeing sufferers coming from as many as 20 states, largely from Wisconsin and Ohio, the place abortion has been restricted.

Medical doctors from Wisconsin are also touring to Illinois to see sufferers in Waukegan.

“To some extent, the people who find themselves essentially the most regarding to me are those I haven’t seen as a result of they don’t have the sources and alternative to journey for an abortion,” Whitaker stated. “We all know that there are people who find themselves already marginalized and don’t have good entry to well being care, that these are those that these bans and restrictions are going to harm essentially the most.”

In latest weeks, the Chicago Abortion Fund has spent $20,000 with accomplice organizations to assist these coming from Wisconsin get to Illinois for abortions, in response to Megan Jeyifo, government director of the group.Abortion is now banned in Wisconsin besides to save lots of the lifetime of a pregnant lady.

Round Chicago, the appointment wait occasions are a couple of week to 10 days, Jeyifo stated.

“In an hour, you may be in Wisconsin, and it’s such drastically completely different for individuals in our state and other people in that state,” she stated.

In Skokie, the variety of in-person purchasers that the Carafem clinic sees is up by 130% over 2021, in response to Melissa Grant, chief working officer for Carafem, which additionally has seen telemedicine visits enhance by 20%.

Carafem is extending its hours and bringing in additional part-time clinicians to maintain appointment wait occasions inside 5 days, Grant stated. However she stated some sufferers have needed to wait greater than per week for an appointment.

“When a change like that occurs or a whole ban, as has occurred in states across the nation occurs, the necessity for abortion doesn’t cease,” Grant stated. “So we have now waves of individuals then looking for out: The place can I’m going?”

Carafem’s offices in Skokie. It has seen increases in requests for an abortion in-person and through its telemedicine services, said Melissa Grant, Carafem’s chief operating officer. — Carafem, which has a location in Skokie, has seen will increase in requests for an abortion in-person and thru its telemedicine companies, stated Melissa Grant, Carafem’s chief working officer.

On the College of Illinois Hospital’s Heart for Reproductive Well being, there was a big uptick in calls from sufferers from elsewhere within the Midwest and within the South, stated Dr. Jonah Fleisher, the middle’s director.

Most find yourself with the ability to get an abortion at different clinics, however individuals with well being points or who’re experiencing pregnancy-related medical issues are ending up on the Heart for Reproductive Well being, Fleisher stated. In some cases, a delay in getting an abortion may enhance the medical threat, he stated.

“When any person has to journey after which probably return residence and journey once more as a result of they discover that they’ve medical issues the place they couldn’t be seen within the first clinic, that’s the place the hazard comes from,” Fleisher stated.

Not all abortion suppliers in Illinois are seeing a big surge. Rush College Medical Heart hasn’t seen a considerable rise in calls concerning abortions, stated Polly Tita, a spokeswoman for the hospital.

Boxes of the drug mifepristone. Medication abortions had become the preferred method for ending pregnancy in the United States even before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. — Packing containers of the drug mifepristone. Treatment abortions had turn into the popular technique for ending being pregnant in america even earlier than the Supreme Courtroom overturned Roe v. Wade.

Complete Girl’s Well being has supplied digital remedy abortion since 2021 in Illinois, and it’s contemplating opening a bodily location in Illinois, stated Amy Hagstrom Miller, its president and CEO. It operates an in-person clinic in South Bend, Ind., that may have to shut if Indiana bans abortions.

“We’re simply beginning that outreach now and looking out into completely different communities in Illinois and taking a look at the place we could be most wanted and the place we could possibly probably have a clinic area in addition to our digital area,” Miller stated.

Fleisher thinks the demand Illinois suppliers are beginning to see is the start of a bigger wave.

“That want isn’t going to go away, and increasingly individuals over time are going to want care,” Fleisher stated.

Elvia Malagón’s reporting on social justice and earnings inequality is made attainable by a grant from The Chicago Neighborhood Belief.

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Illinois

Here’s how much snow Springfield got — and when it’ll melt

Published

9 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

Here’s how much snow Springfield got — and when it’ll melt

A blanket of snow covered Springfield late Thursday and early Friday, closing Springfield schools and some offices for a snow day.

Morning traffic appeared to be moving slowly but steadily. Cameras covering major roads in the city showed snow and slush remaining on many city roads but no major slowdowns.

How much snow did Springfield get?

As of 10 a.m., Springfield had seen around 6 to 6.5 inches of snow, according to Angelica Soria, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Springfield office. Southwest Missouri in general got slightly less snow, with reports of 5 to 6 inches.

About another inch of snow was possible in Springfield, according to the National Weather Service, but new accumulation was expected to taper off by noon.

When will the snow melt?

The snow likely won’t stick around long, with a high of 40 expected Saturday. Temperatures are forecast to drop below freezing again Monday before returning to daytime highs in the high-30s and 40s later next week.

While the weather is predicted to warm up this weekend, folks should take care driving when the sun goes down, even if all the snow melts.

“(The snow) will probably start melting during the day tomorrow, but we are worried about the re-freezing on the road, because it will probably get kind of slushy as the plows keep going around trying to get it off the road,” Soria said. “We definitely want to urge people to be careful while traveling … when the sun goes down, it’s harder to see black ice, things like that.”

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Illinois

Waukegan, Illinois city workers suffer electric shock from power lines

Published

18 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

Waukegan, Illinois city workers suffer electric shock from power lines

Two Waukegan, Illinois city workers suffer electric shock

00:15

WAUKEGAN, Ill. (CBS) — Two city workers from Waukegan were rushed to the hospital Thursday morning after they were shocked by power lines.

Firefighters said the workers were trimming trees at Pershing Road and Greenwood Avenue near the Waukegan Generating Station, a now-shuttered coal-fired power plant.

The workers’ crane touched a power line, which energized the truck and gave the workers an electric shock.

A helicopter took one man to the hospital with electrical burns. The other was taken away by ambulance.

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Illinois

Illinois’ important trio that stepped up big time in KJ’s absence

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2025

Press Room

Illinois’ important trio that stepped up big time in KJ’s absence

A surprise late scratch of a potential top five NBA draft pick like the one of Kasparas Jakucionis prior to Wednesday’s game very well could’ve thrown a wrench in the Illini’s recent momentum.

Or, at the very least, it probably should’ve looked like it had some effect. A 39-point drubbing? A 34-4 first half run? Alright, I guess nothing can slow down this Illini train right now.

Illinois didn’t skip a beat in its second emphatic victory in three games — and a big reason for that was the trio of guys it had step up to pick up the slack for its missing leader.

As read on TCR last night, the Illini made more history on Wednesday. Ben Humrichous, Tre White and Morez Johnson all reached 20 or more points, marking just the third time since the 1938-1939 season that Illinois had three 20-point scorers in the same game.

The individual performances of those three were particularly notable because all three of Humrichous, White and Johnson put up their respective big nights in entirely different ways. And all three used Jakucionis’s absence to send a message about how far they’ve already come just a quarter of the way into conference play.

For Morez Johnson, Wednesday’s 20-point, 11-rebound double-double encapsulated everything he brings to the floor the second he steps on it. It was efficient — done in just 20 minutes — and was the result of his constant energy and activity that found himself around the basket on what felt like every possession.

Johnson’s been perhaps the most consistently impactful producer in the Illini rotation all season. His per-40-minute numbers are absurd — try 14.6 points, 17.7 rebounds and 3.3 blocks. His total rebound rate would rank in the top five nationally if he had the minutes to qualify. He just hasn’t gotten the opportunity to stuff the stat sheet as loudly as he did Wednesday. A well-deserved and long overdue breakout night.

Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images

Ben Humrichous’s explosive first half was the flashiest performance of the night, showcasing the ability to catch fire from deep that has always been there for him despite his December struggles. Humrichous nailed five first half threes and was a big reason the Illini’s lead ballooned in the midst of their dominating scoring run.

The most encouraging sign for Humrichous, though, is the way he’s beginning to diversify his game. Through December, Humrichous had attempted just 12 two-point attempts on the season, pretty much exclusively acting as a spot-up shooter on the perimeter. In just three games in January, Humrichous already has 14 attempts from two.

He flashed the ability to take advantage of mismatches with his size in some Marcus Domask-like mid post isos. He’s also gotten noticeably more aggressive attacking closeouts and finishing with force at the rim when the opportunity presents itself. Pair those things with a season-high 9 rebounds on Wednesday and you’ve finally got the version of Humrichous that makes Illinois its most dangerous self.

And quietly in the midst of everything else came another extremely productive Tre White performance. White reached 20 points and 7 rebounds in a similar manner to most of his recent production — doing a little bit of everything and doing it in a very efficient, inconspicuous manner.

Over the last 7 games, White is now averaging 16.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game on remarkable 63.3% efficiency from the floor. He’s turned himself into a consistent second scoring option alongside Jakucionis when he’s out there while making the types of winning plays that result from competing to win, as Brad Underwood detailed Tuesday.

White has made significant strides in almost every area, from scoring off the dribble to rebounding to the defensive end, and it’s taken Illinois to an entirely different level. Wednesday’s performance showed once again how dangerous he can be when he’s attacking and playing with high energy.

As a whole, the Illini certainly hope they’re without their star player for long. But their response without him — particularly from the Johnson, Humrichous and White trio that will continue to be vital to their success — was a welcome sight.

Illinois proved they have the depth to survive a man down while also showing what things can look like when its complementary pieces are at their best. Right now, it’s hard to imagine anything slowing down the roll these Illini are on.

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