Latest news with #McCombie
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
After Trump trans athlete ban, IHSA says it's in ‘untenable position'
The Brief The IHSA, which governs Illinois high school sports, says it's in an "untenable position" after a Trump executive order banning transgender athletes from girls sports. The association said it's been told that complying with the executive order could violate state law. Republican state lawmakers asked IHSA what it would do to change its current policy in light of Trump's executive order. The governing body for high school sports in Illinois told Republican state lawmakers this week that it is in an "untenable position" about whether to allow transgender athletes to compete in sporting events. The backstory The issue came up after President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Feb. 5 banning the participation of transgender athletes in girls' and women's sports in schools. On March 18, Republican members of the Illinois House of Representatives sent a letter to IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson asking the body what it will do to change its policy of allowing transgender athletes to participate in sports to comply with Trump's executive order. The IHSA must grant eligibility for a transgender student to compete in "gender specific state series athletic events or activities," according to the association's policy. Then, last Tuesday, IHSA officials sent a letter back to the GOP lawmakers saying that the Illinois Attorney General and the Illinois Department of Human Rights said that state law requires that transgender athletes be allowed to participate in competitions aligning with their gender identity. "As a result of the foregoing, compliance with the Executive Order could place the IHSA out of compliance with the Illinois Human Rights Act and vice versa," wrote IHSA Board President Dan Tully and Anderson. They added, "The IHSA simply desires to comply with the law and takes no position as to which of the foregoing is correct or whether there can be alignment between claimed federal and state law. Given the conflict described above, however, we are left in an untenable position." What they're saying The IHSA officials asked state lawmakers and other elected officials to "work together with federal authorities to provide clear direction on this issue." In response to that letter, House GOP Leader Tony McCombie, who represents parts of the northwest corner of the state, criticized the IHSA. "The IHSA has once again chosen deflection over direction, and ambiguity over action," McCombie said in a statement. "Their response is not just late—it's weak. Saying, 'It's not our problem,' doesn't serve the students of this state. It's not leadership—it's a cop-out." McCombie also referenced the possibility of a loss of federal funding if the IHSA doesn't comply with the executive order. The IHSA said it does not receive state or federal funding.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Illinois lawmakers propose bill to eliminate co-pays for sexual assault victims
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WTVO) — Illinois legislators have advanced a bill that would ensure sexual assault victims are not charged a co-pay for forensic medical examinations. passed the Illinois House Insurance Committee on Tuesday. Although the Illinois Sexual Assault Survivor Treatment Act prohibits sexual assault survivors from being charged for forensic medical exams, House Minority Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) said there is nothing in the law that does not prohibit insurance companies from charging a deductible or insurance co-pay for the services. 'This will make sure that victims are not victimized on any level,' McCombie . Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Editorial: Illinois Supreme Court, it's time — finally — to act on gerrymandering
For better or worse, November 2024 elections were a triumph for Republicans nationwide. And margins for the GOP in deep-blue Illinois were no exception. For the Illinois House, Republicans received a total 45% of votes statewide, a considerably better showing than in 2020, the previous presidential election year, when the GOP got just 39% of the Illinois House vote. But in terms of seats in Springfield's lower chamber, nothing changed after November. Literally nothing. Not a single district went from blue to red or vice versa. Just as they did before the 2024 election, Democrats have a 78-40 supermajority in the House, 66% of the seats. That's despite their winning just 55% of the vote. This tells any fair-minded person that Illinois has a map problem. Democrats have drawn the 118 House districts in such a way as to reduce the truly competitive seats to a minimum, leading to more politically extreme representatives from both parties in the state capital and an embarrassing number of uncontested elections. In November, voters had no choice in 55 of the 118 House races. In 2020, the number of uncontested races was 47. An unacceptable figure in 2020 only got much worse four years later. House Minority Leader Tony McCombie along with Reps. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria and Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva are championing a lawsuit filed in January that would throw out the gerrymandered map in favor of a fairer one. They've asked the Illinois Supreme Court to declare the map unconstitutional and appoint an independent official to draw a new map. This is the latest in a string of such attempts over the past two decades, all of which the state's high court declined to consider. But in a meeting with us, McCombie, Spain and Ugaste said there's reason to be optimistic about a different outcome this time. First, courts in this state and others have ruled in the past that such challenges weren't timely because elections were looming in the near future and judges didn't want to change the rules in the middle of the game. The Republicans purposefully filed this challenge just after the November election to remove that obstacle. Secondly, the Democratic-drawn map is so egregious that the GOP challengers have amassed considerable data from university experts to support their case. We agree with McCombie and her colleagues: The Illinois Supreme Court should accept this case and determine whether, in fact, too many Illinois voters are being unconstitutionally deprived of their electoral franchise. It's unfortunate it's come to this point. We were hopeful things would change when JB Pritzker said on the campaign trail ahead of his first term in office, 'We should amend the (state) constitution to create an independent commission to draw legislative maps,' and vowed to veto any unfairly drawn map. Unfortunately, when the time came for action, Pritzker lined up with Democrats in the General Assembly. Mapmaking, like so many other things, was thrown off during COVID, as the 2020 census data used to draw electoral maps was delayed significantly. Instead of waiting, lawmakers rushed to approve new political maps in May 2021, using incomplete population estimates. A federal court later forced a redraw using actual census data in August 2021. Despite this, the maps remained heavily skewed, triggering multiple lawsuits. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund challenged the maps for failing to create enough majority-Latino districts. Civil rights groups argued they diluted Black voting power, violating the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution. Republicans also filed a lawsuit, claiming partisan bias. This board acknowledged that these new maps are anything but fair and nonpartisan. The argument put forth by McCombie, Ugaste, and Spain focuses on two key points: Compactness and free-and-equal elections. They point to the Illinois Constitution, which says 'all legislative districts shall be contiguous and compact,' which they describe as meaning districts should follow logical, existing municipal boundaries. Indeed, many of Illinois' electoral districts are far from compact, spanning multiple towns and counties in an array of tortured, irregular shapes. McCombie, Spain and Ugaste cited another portion of the state Constitution that says, 'All elections shall be free and equal.' In other words, each person's vote should count as much as every other person in the state. We're interested in hearing the Democrats' response to these points. House Speaker Emanuel 'Chris' Welch did not reply to a request for comment. Illinois' political maps, and the power they give to one party — currently Democrats — has led to many policies that we believe are well to the left of the political center in this state. The gerrymandering also explains why Republicans are often excluded from key conversations. We've heard from multiple GOP state lawmakers that they have been iced out of budget talks. In the House, Speaker Welch has frustrated Republicans repeatedly by forming 'working groups' on hot-button issues comprised entirely of Democrats. Recent examples include pensions and property taxes. It's wrong to exclude Republicans from the debate over these issues critical to Illinois' future, particularly when 45% of voters just chose the GOP. Why else do fair maps matter to regular Illinoisans? They're an antidote to apathy. Ugaste told us that a common refrain he hears is that 'Nothing is ever going to change in this state.' It's prompted many, he said, to move out of state, and we've certainly heard the same stories. The lack of competitive elections means lawmakers have little incentive to listen to dissenting voices or compromise on major policy decisions. Fewer competitive elections also hurts turnout. Research shows that having more candidates on the ballot leads to higher voter participation. Gerrymandering reduces electoral competition, entrenches incumbents, and marginalizes whole communities, ultimately eroding public trust in democracy. Gerrymandering isn't just a Democratic problem — it's a Republican one too. Texas, North Carolina, and Ohio have faced legal challenges over maps that were allegedly drawn to dilute Democratic votes or disproportionately favor Republican candidates. And many years ago, Republicans gerrymandered Illinois' maps as well. Other states have done something about the problem. Michigan voters passed a constitutional amendment in 2018 that created an independent redistricting commission. Out west, California and Arizona have similar commissions that have drawn districts that better reflect the political diversity of voters. The Illinois Supreme Court is composed of five Democrats and two Republicans, so the cynics among us will say we shouldn't hold our breath that this time will be different. But this time really should be different; democracy in Illinois is badly undermined by such egregious gerrymandering. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@
Chicago Tribune
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Editorial: Illinois Supreme Court, it's time — finally — to act on gerrymandering
For better or worse, November 2024 elections were a triumph for Republicans nationwide. And margins for the GOP in deep-blue Illinois were no exception. For the Illinois House, Republicans received a total 45% of votes statewide, a considerably better showing than in 2020, the previous presidential election year, when the GOP got just 39% of the Illinois House vote. But in terms of seats in Springfield's lower chamber, nothing changed after November. Literally nothing. Not a single district went from blue to red or vice versa. Just as they did before the 2024 election, Democrats have a 78-40 supermajority in the House, 66% of the seats. That's despite their winning just 55% of the vote. This tells any fair-minded person that Illinois has a map problem. Democrats have drawn the 118 House districts in such a way as to reduce the truly competitive seats to a minimum, leading to more politically extreme representatives from both parties in the state capital and an embarrassing number of uncontested elections. In November, voters had no choice in 55 of the 118 House races. In 2020, the number of uncontested races was 47. An unacceptable figure in 2020 only got much worse four years later. House Minority Leader Tony McCombie along with Reps. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria and Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva are championing a lawsuit filed in January that would throw out the gerrymandered map in favor of a fairer one. They've asked the Illinois Supreme Court to declare the map unconstitutional and appoint an independent official to draw a new map. This is the latest in a string of such attempts over the past two decades, all of which the state's high court declined to consider. But in a meeting with us, McCombie, Spain and Ugaste said there's reason to be optimistic about a different outcome this time. First, courts in this state and others have ruled in the past that such challenges weren't timely because elections were looming in the near future and judges didn't want to change the rules in the middle of the game. The Republicans purposefully filed this challenge just after the November election to remove that obstacle. Secondly, the Democratic-drawn map is so egregious that the GOP challengers have amassed considerable data from university experts to support their case. We agree with McCombie and her colleagues: The Illinois Supreme Court should accept this case and determine whether, in fact, too many Illinois voters are being unconstitutionally deprived of their electoral franchise. It's unfortunate it's come to this point. We were hopeful things would change when JB Pritzker said on the campaign trail ahead of his first term in office, 'We should amend the (state) constitution to create an independent commission to draw legislative maps,' and vowed to veto any unfairly drawn map. Unfortunately, when the time came for action, Pritzker lined up with Democrats in the General Assembly. Mapmaking, like so many other things, was thrown off during COVID, as the 2020 census data used to draw electoral maps was delayed significantly. Instead of waiting, lawmakers rushed to approve new political maps in May 2021, using incomplete population estimates. A federal court later forced a redraw using actual census data in August 2021. Despite this, the maps remained heavily skewed, triggering multiple lawsuits. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund challenged the maps for failing to create enough majority-Latino districts. Civil rights groups argued they diluted Black voting power, violating the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution. Republicans also filed a lawsuit, claiming partisan bias. This board acknowledged that these new maps are anything but fair and nonpartisan. The argument put forth by McCombie, Ugaste, and Spain focuses on two key points: Compactness and free-and-equal elections. They point to the Illinois Constitution, which says 'all legislative districts shall be contiguous and compact,' which they describe as meaning districts should follow logical, existing municipal boundaries. Indeed, many of Illinois' electoral districts are far from compact, spanning multiple towns and counties in an array of tortured, irregular shapes. McCombie, Spain and Ugaste cited another portion of the state Constitution that says, 'All elections shall be free and equal.' In other words, each person's vote should count as much as every other person in the state. We're interested in hearing the Democrats' response to these points. House Speaker Emanuel 'Chris' Welch did not reply to a request for comment. Illinois' political maps, and the power they give to one party — currently Democrats — has led to many policies that we believe are well to the left of the political center in this state. The gerrymandering also explains why Republicans are often excluded from key conversations. We've heard from multiple GOP state lawmakers that they have been iced out of budget talks. In the House, Speaker Welch has frustrated Republicans repeatedly by forming 'working groups' on hot-button issues comprised entirely of Democrats. Recent examples include pensions and property taxes. It's wrong to exclude Republicans from the debate over these issues critical to Illinois' future, particularly when 45% of voters just chose the GOP. Why else do fair maps matter to regular Illinoisans? They're an antidote to apathy. Ugaste told us that a common refrain he hears is that 'Nothing is ever going to change in this state.' It's prompted many, he said, to move out of state, and we've certainly heard the same stories. The lack of competitive elections means lawmakers have little incentive to listen to dissenting voices or compromise on major policy decisions. Fewer competitive elections also hurts turnout. Research shows that having more candidates on the ballot leads to higher voter participation. Gerrymandering reduces electoral competition, entrenches incumbents, and marginalizes whole communities, ultimately eroding public trust in democracy. Gerrymandering isn't just a Democratic problem — it's a Republican one too. Texas, North Carolina, and Ohio have faced legal challenges over maps that were allegedly drawn to dilute Democratic votes or disproportionately favor Republican candidates. And many years ago, Republicans gerrymandered Illinois' maps as well. Other states have done something about the problem. Michigan voters passed a constitutional amendment in 2018 that created an independent redistricting commission. Out west, California and Arizona have similar commissions that have drawn districts that better reflect the political diversity of voters. The Illinois Supreme Court is composed of five Democrats and two Republicans, so the cynics among us will say we shouldn't hold our breath that this time will be different. But this time really should be different; democracy in Illinois is badly undermined by such egregious gerrymandering.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rep. McCombie reintroduces bill to repeal Illinois pro-abortion laws, faces activists in Pecatonica
PECATONICA, Ill. (WTVO) — Rep. Tony McCombie (R-89th) faced pro-choice activists in Pecatonica on Friday after she reintroduced a bill that would repeal the Reproductive Healthcare Act and ban abortion in Illinois. House Bill 1333, introduced by McCombie, Rep. Paul Jacobs (R-115th), and co-sponsored by Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-117th) would also create several laws that would make full abortion or partial-birth abortions illegal, except in cases of a medical emergency in which the mother's life is endangered. The law would apply to both surgical and medication-based abortion procedures. McCombie stopped by the Pecatonica Library to discuss issues with her constituents and said she was surprised by the protests. 'It's just really is to start over. I think everybody can agree that we don't support – whether you're pro-choice or pro-life – that we don't support abortions to 9 months. We don't believe in the repeal of parental notification. We don't believe in taxpayer-funded abortions.' She also acknowledged the bill had little hope of passing. 'We're in the super minority. This bill will sit like it does every year. It'll sit where it is, and it'll just die in rules,' she said. Currently, Illinois has some of the strongest pro-abortion laws in the nation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
