•February 14, 2018•

By Jim Nowlan
NP Guest Columnist

Abortion is the defining, underlying issue of the Illinois GOP gubernatorial primary. Not taxes, not the budget deficit, nor the pension burden, nor education nor infrastructure—matters the governor and legislature can do something about.

This column is not about pro-life or pro-choice arguments, but about whether the two sides could ever come together to work on efforts both sides might agree on—how to reduce the number of abortions. My friend Perry Klopfenstein of Gridley (north of Bloomington) thinks it is possible.

First, the governor’s race. Earlier this year Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill that provides taxpayer funding for abortions, after declaring on several occasions, even to the Catholic cardinal of Chicago, that he would veto the bill.

This action prompted outrage among pro-life conservative Christian groups in the state. And it was the catalyst for the GOP gubernatorial run of conservative state Rep. Jeanne Ives of Wheaton.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.