Danville mayor Rickey Williams, Jr is taking both a “no regrets” approach, as well as a “let’s be realistic” approach to his tie-breaking vote during Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.
Speaking with the mayor following Wednesday morning’s (May 3rd) police swearing in ceremony, Neuhoff Media was told by the mayor that he believes he made the right decision when he cast the “YES” vote that gave an 8-7 victory to the proposed ordinance; designed to prevent a clinic planning to come to the old Dillman Eye Care at 600 North Logan from providing abortions. The ordinance’s main point is to prevent reception by mail of any medication, article, or thing designed or intended for producing an abortion. The city has been threatened with legal action by the ACLU, the Attorney General’s Office, and the Illinois Pharmacist Association. Mayor Williams says; one, they’ll be working on fine-tuning things; and two, this could be the start of a long journey.
AUDIO: We will be working, in my mind, to make even some additional improvements to the ordinance itself. But as a reminder, it does not take effect until after we receive a decision in the court, a declaratory judgement, and it’s gone through all of the appellate process, which I anticipate could be years.
Danville mayor Rickey Williams, Jr speaks during Wednesday (May 3rd) morning’s Probationary Police Officer Swearing in Ceremony.
And as Vice-Mayor Iverson pointed out Tuesday night, until that “declaratory judgement” comes, that means that in the meantime the clinic would be able to set up and receive what they need for abortions. The mayor says; yes they can, until that judgement approving the ordinance comes, if it ever does. Mayor Williams says it would be nice if the clinic would set up to do other things as well, but he does not expect it.
AUDIO: The clinic can always set up there. If they wish to provide other services, we would welcome that. Unfortunately, all they provide in Indianapolis currently are abortions, and that’s my understanding is what their primary focus will be here. So it’s not as though we’re going to be getting addition OBGYNs who are providing services for women in our communty. We are going to literally get an abortion factory.
In reviewing Tuesday’s vote on the ordinance; in addition to the mayor’s tie-breaking vote, the other “yes” votes came from Aldermen Eve Ludwig, Mike O’Kane, Sherry Pickering, Jim Poshard, Carolyn Wands, Robert Williams, and Darren York. The “no” votes came from Ethan Burt, Alesia Ford, Bob Iverson, Mike Puhr, Rick Strebing, Tricia Teague, and Heidi Wilson.
Burt and Ford have now been replaced on the newly sworn in council by, respectively, Jon Cooper and Ed Butler.
