* Coverage roundup…

* Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering urge President Biden to push federal action on guns: During his remarks to hundreds of guests on the South Lawn, Biden acknowledged Rotering and Pritkzer and thanked them for their response to the July 4 shooting, which authorities say was carried out with a legally purchased semi-automatic rifle. “We had a number of conversations immediately after the attack in Highland Park, and I’ve been impressed with the way they’ve handled things,” Biden said. “It’s been extraordinary. And as the three of us have discussed, we have more to do.”

* Pritzker, other Illinois officials call for more action on gun control at White House event: The new law “will make a difference,” the governor said. “But there is so much more to do. We need an assault weapons ban. We need a ban on high-capacity magazines. The president indicated he will be fighting for that as well. We’re grateful for that.” Asked whether there was legitimate interest in going further than the new law, Pritzker said, “Are you kidding me? I think there is a lot of interest in getting more done. Whether or not they can bring enough Republicans along is a question. Whether or not you have to wait until after November when maybe there will be more pro-gun safety Democrats in the Senate and the House, that may be the case. But for many of us, the fight goes on.”

* At White House gun law event a week after parade massacre, Biden wears ‘Highland Park Strong’ ribbon: This big event to highlight the new law Biden signed on June 25 — the first gun control measure in almost three decades — only underscored, especially in the wake of Highland Park, the inability of Congress to pass an assault weapons ban or even put limits on high-capacity magazines.

* Gov. Pritzker pushes president for assault weapons ban: “Well, we expressed to the President our desire to see more done at the federal level, particularly a ban on assault weapons ban on high capacity magazines,” said Gov. Pritzker. “He agrees that more needs to be done and he is passionate about this.”

* Highland Park mayor, Gov. Pritzker visit White House: “We all share a love of freedom. We all share a love of helping our children grow up in a clean and safe society. We also love and share an appreciation for our first responders. Our first responders are out gunned by these combat weapons,” Rotering said. “I think if people listen to what has happened week, after week, after week, in our communities and recognize that this is not what our freedom was fought for. We are, in fact, going in reverse.”

* Highland Park mayor, Gov. Pritzker call for federal assault weapons ban: The legislation will also help states put in place red flag laws that make it simpler for members of law enforcement to take weapons away from people believed to be dangerous. “So the parent, a teacher, a counselor can flag for the court that a child is a danger to themselves and to others,” said the president.

* Pritzker, Highland Park Mayor in Attendance as Biden Signs New Gun Law

* Response from the Right. Darren Bailey…

Republican nominee for governor and State Senator Darren Bailey has called for special sessions to address rising crime, inflation, mental health issues, and taxes in Illinois. Unfortunately, instead of acting swiftly to address these issues, Pritzker is again running from his failures to enforce current laws and his pro-criminal agenda that puts Illinois families and jobs in jeopardy to campaign for president in Washington, D.C. Darren Bailey released the following statement:

“J.B. Pritzker is in D.C. hobnobbing with his elite friends when he should be home answering for his soft on crime bills, like the no cash bail and the so-called SAFE-T Act. This morning six men were in a shootout in the South Loop, which is starting to look like the O.K. Corral. Families and jobs are fleeing daily due to rising crime and taxes. This is all on your watch, Pritzker. Stop running for president, J.B., and do your job. It’s time to provide relief, catch criminals and keep families safe. Lives depend on it.”

* And Wirepoints moves on to a new conspiracy…

The scenario is straightforward: Pres. Joe Biden resigns “for health reasons” or is pushed out of office. Vice President Kamala Harris thereby becomes president and, under the 25th Amendment, submits her nominee for a new vice president to Congress, who takes office if approved by both houses by majority vote.

Who would be that nominee?

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker now appears as likely a possibility as anybody, provided you see it through the lens of progressives now in charge. […]

Many Illinoisans will find it absurd to think of Pritzker as a presidential or vice-presidential prospect. That’s because his chances of winning in a general election are an entirely different story. But from the viewpoint of progressives at the national level who dominate the Democratic Party, it’s not absurd.

…Adding… Press release…

The Senate Judiciary Committee released Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton’s prepared testimony during today’s hearing entitled “A Post-Roe America: The Legal Consequences of the Dobbs Decision.” Stratton is the first Black woman to serve as Illinois’s Lieutenant Governor, a position she has held since 2019. Her testimony focuses on the steps that Illinois has taken to protect access to abortion, the challenges of out-of-state patients coming to Illinois to seek care, and the significant racial disparities that already exist for abortion access and maternal mortality.

Key quotes as prepared:

“I come before you today because people throughout the entire Midwest are relying on our commitment to protect and preserve women’s rights—namely the right to an abortion.”

“[Illinois is] not just an oasis of reproductive care, but an island… It looks like disenfranchised yet determined patients coming from every surrounding state, but also from as far away as Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida. It looks like the entire staff in our state’s abortion clinics fielding phone calls for appointments because the number of out-of-state patients has doubled since Roe V Wade was overturned.”

“[W]e know that inequities are amplified within the Black and Latinx communities. A post-Roe America will be devastating for Black women, whose maternal mortality rate is already two to three times higher than that of white women because of structural racism and misogyny. One study… projects that without access to safe and legal abortions, that number will increase by over 30 percent among Black women and nearly 20 percent for Hispanic women.”

“We are facing a future rife with needless death, despite 61% of Americans believing abortion should be legal… Before the threats to Roe V Wade were fully realized, Illinois was proactive, upholding bodily autonomy, and protecting the right to an abortion. And still, the overturning of Roe V Wade has sent us down a dark, agonizing path.”

“I say this, not just as the Lt. Governor of Illinois, but as the mother of four daughters. My daughters, who now have fewer rights than I had. And based on Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion, it is likely this may not be the last rights that will be stripped from future generations.”

Full text of Lt. Gov. Stratton’s prepared remarks are available here.

Full hearing on the impact of gun violence on children can be watched live here; on Twitter here; and on Facebook here.