North Egypt News

Republican state Rep. Paul Jacobs has a full slate of legislative priorities he plans to push in 2022, focusing on abortion issues, Second Amendment rights and childcare.

“Each year in January, representatives in the General Assembly introduce new bills for the new session,” Jacobs outlined in the first Jacobs Journal of 2022. “This year, I’ve got a robust package of bills that address a range of issues, including enhanced protection of the unborn, saving working families money and protecting your 2nd Amendment Rights.”

Four of Jacobs' priority bills to work on over the next 12 months are the Restoring Parental Notification of Abortion Act (HB 4378), the Ultrasound Opportunity Act (HB 4375), The Born Alive Act (HB 4377) and The FOID Card Repeal (HB 4376).  

Passed during the 2021 Veto Session in October, HB 4378 strips away the requirement that parents or guardians of minors be notified 48 hours prior to that minor having an abortion. The previous law did not require that parents’ consent, but merely be notified.

“An abortion is a major medical procedure that can have adverse or even life threatening side effects,” Jacobs added. “Democrats in Illinois are hell-bent on making Illinois the most progressive, pro-abortion state in the nation. I am 100% pro-life and remain determined to repeal taxpayer-funded abortions, late-term abortions, and to restore a parent’s right to be notified prior to their minor child having an abortion.”

Jacobs argues his opposition to HB 4375 is consistent with those views.

“As a pro-life legislator, I believe women should be offered the opportunity to view an ultrasound prior to having an abortion,” he added. “The Ultrasound Opportunity Act is simple; abortion providers would be required to offer women about to have an abortion the opportunity to view an ultrasound before the procedure occurs.”

HB 4377 “provides that a live child born as a result of a failed abortion shall be fully recognized as a human person and accorded immediate protection under the law.”

Jacobs also plans to continue his push for HB 4381, a bill he filed that would cut sales tax on diapers and diaper wipes from 6.25% to 1%, amounting to an 84% reduction in cost, according to his release.

Finally, HB 4376 seeks to repeal the FOID card on the grounds the requirement is unconstitutional.

“I believe the FOID card is unconstitutional and should be repealed,” Jacobs wrote. “To that end, I have filed HB 4376. I believe in the protections afforded law-abiding citizens in the 2nd Amendment.”

The Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) filed suit in March last year against Illinois State Police, insisting that applicant are now being forced to wait four times longer than the allocated by law to get approval for FOID cards. The suit sought to speed up the process, which at the time was reported to take 156 days on average to process concealed and carry licenses, or nearly twice the time approved by law.

A new law intended to speed up the process, the "FOID Modernization Bill," was sponsored  by Peoria Sen. Dave Koehler and went into effect Jan. 1, NBC News 25 reported. It allows for FOID and concealed carry cards to be combined and allows for expanded background checks and more resources for processing applications. 

Back in November, the SW Illinois News reported Jacobs also blasted an approved amendment to the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker as doing harm than good in helping workers hesitant about taking the COVID-19 vaccination.

“Sad day in Illinois,” Jacobs, a longtime optometrist, posted on Facebook. “As expected, the governor has signed legislation to limit the Right of Conscience for workers in Illinois. I have no doubt the courts will have the final say on this, but for now our freedoms and liberties are threatened. We must stand up for the rights of working families and push back against the constant assault on our freedoms.”

Enacted more than four decades ago, the Right to Conscience Act protects health care workers from facing disciplinary action upon refusing to perform procedures due to religious or moral objections. It was amended to prevent people from using it to circumvent measures intended to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Earlier in the year, Jacobs also took a stand against the recently passed energy bill on the grounds he believed it stood to hit already financially strapped Illinois taxpayers hard; and blasted the governor for allowing the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund to drain at the height of the pandemic, or the same time he ordered many businesses to shutter.