State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke: Cook County has new tools in the fight for reproductive freedom

Chicago Tribune

01-07-2025

Three years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, which overturned the federal protections for abortion that had been guaranteed to women for nearly 50 years. This ruling in Dobbs limited access to reproductive health care for millions of American women and has fundamentally changed the ability of women to make their own personal medical decisions.
Nearly half the states in the country — including most of our Midwestern neighbors — have dramatically restricted abortion access. In Illinois, we have seen a 71% increase in women traveling from out of state to safely access reproductive health care services that remain available here. Illinois has been and will continue to be a refuge for women in need.
As more women have come to Illinois to access reproductive health care, we have seen an increase in other groups coming here as well: those trying to thwart a women's right to choose, some of whom may be willing to resort to criminal actions in pursuit of that goal. This isn't a theoretical threat. Clinics in downstate Danville and Peoria were targeted by arsonists. In May, the bombing of a reproductive health facility in Palm Springs, California, destroyed the building and terrorized the community.
We were again reminded of this danger in Minnesota, where a gunman assassinated a pro-abortion rights lawmaker and her husband and wounded another Democratic lawmaker and his wife. According to investigators, the man who has been charged in this shooting rampage had a lengthy list of other targets that included Planned Parenthood facilities and abortion rights advocates.
The Cook County state's attorney's office is responding to this threat head-on by creating the Choice Protection Unit (CPU).
The CPU brings together seasoned attorneys, investigators and victim/witness specialists from every division of our office. In addition to their current caseloads, these public servants have volunteered to participate in trainings, collaborate with experts, and stay abreast of current legal issues and legislative initiatives so that when these crimes are committed in Cook County, we will be prepared to successfully prosecute them with the full force of our office. The CPU will also monitor and analyze the evolving legal landscape so that we can respond swiftly and effectively as new threats and tactics emerge.
The CPU has hit the ground running by developing strong connections with the providers, doctors and organizations that are increasingly threatened for doing their jobs. The anti-abortion rights movement does not limit its actions to criminal activity. Its adherents have also targeted providers with civil actions. As the legal representative for Cook County Health, my office needs to be in the best position to defend against these attacks on reproductive freedoms on the civil front as well.
This past legislative session, we proposed state legislation that would ensure any violent attack on a reproductive health facility in Illinois is treated as what it is: an act of domestic terrorism. This change is a commonsense step toward providing reproductive health clinics the same protection we give to hospitals, namely by giving prosecutors a tool to seek the highest classification of charges with stiffer criminal penalties for those who commit acts of terror.
This legislation addresses a very real need to provide clarity and accountability for those who terrorize our communities. However, some special interest groups and their legislative allies worked behind the scenes to block this bill before legislators ever had an opportunity to hear about its value and necessity. It could not be clearer that this legislation is urgently needed, given what has happened across the country, and I am hopeful state lawmakers will pass this vital legislation when they next reconvene. We need to have the tools to protect our community from violent extremism.
The CPU is the first stand-alone unit of its kind across the country, and I hope it will be a model for other prosecutor's offices. We are certainly willing to share what we know and to collaborate with other district attorneys to learn what criminal conduct they are seeing, what legislation is helpful and how best to prepare for the cases that will be coming our way.
Above all, I hope the creation of the CPU sends a strong message: In Cook County, we will not tolerate criminal actions that are designed to frighten and prevent women from exercising their right to choose. Here, women are entitled to seek and receive reproductive health care free from harassment, intimidation and other scare tactics — and we will prosecute those who commit crimes to interfere with the exercise of that right.
Eileen O'Neill Burke is the Cook County state's attorney.