CHICAGO – Chicago businessman J.B. Pritzker is not avoiding a discussion about social issues in his campaign for governor. Unlike Republican Bruce Rauner during his 2014 bid, Democrat Pritzker is leading with a charge to "stand up" for mothers' rights to end the lives of their unborn babies.
"HB 40 will be the first law I sign in office," Pritzker says in a new ad released Thursday.
Governor Rauner said in April he would veto a bill that would push Illinois deeper into embracing abortion by using taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions for those expectant mothers covered by Medicaid health insurance or state employee plans.
Now he's not saying anything about what he plans to do when HB 40 comes to his desk.
Still, the situation leaves social conservatives in Illinois in a dilemma for 2018 – voting for an incumbent that hides from social issues or a Democrat that boldly attacks traditional, religious positions on public policy issues.
The new ad:
