* Politico…

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has written to the CEOs of several Texas-based companies urging them to bring their businesses north in response to the Texas law that essentially bars abortions as early as six weeks.

“I invite you to consider a new home base — one that embraces the 21st century,” he wrote in a series of previously unreported letters to Oracle, Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard, Match.com and others.

Pritzker, who worked in the corporate world much of his life, refers to Texas lawmakers as “radical legislators” who “functionally eradicate[d] the autonomy of half the state” by enacting a law he says cuts off access to basic health care and family planning.

And if abortion rights aren’t enough to sway the CEOs, the liberal Democratic governor pressed voting rights, too. “Illinois welcomes you — we’ll even greet you with same-day registration,” he wrote.

Pritzker’s letters are being sent out as Illinois — which enshrined abortion protections into state law in 2019 — is feeling the ripple effect of the Texas law.

Planned Parenthood says it’s ramping up staffing in Illinois as it’s been seeing more patients from Texas in the weeks since the law there went into effect.

Texas’ neighbors, Oklahoma and New Mexico, haven’t been able to handle the influx, so patients are heading to Illinois instead. And Planned Parenthood of Illinois foresees that continuing to increase, said its president and CEO Jennifer Welch.

“We’re expecting there will be copycat laws that will bring more patients from other states,” Welch said. “We don’t know who will do it next. Will it be Missouri? Indiana? Or South Dakota? We don’t know what other state will be next, but we’ve seen a number of states preparing to do the same type of abortion ban.”

A sample letter is here.

* Mark Maxwell…

Sen. Darren Bailey (R) said he’d reverse the plan former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law.

“One of the first things that I also want to work to eliminate is taxpayer funded abortion in the State of Illinois,” Bailey said. […]

House Democrat Kelly Cassidy said the new Texas ban on all abortions after six weeks enlists civil suits, not state power, to restrict abortion, a tactic she says is designed to reverse the high court’s super-precedent.

“We built a firewall around Illinois for this eventuality. This is exactly the kind of case. It’s going to make Roe fall,” she acknowledged.

Republicans are responding to Pritzker’s letter, with Bailey calling it a “stunt,” writing in a statement, “taxpayer-funded abortion is radical and wrong, but Pritzker champions it.”

Sullivan’s campaign said, “If JB Pritzker is serious about attracting businesses to Illinois, he should stop writing letters and start lowering taxes, and make Illinois a business-friendly state.”

Thoughts?

…Adding… Gary Rabine…

“Businesses are leaving Illinois because of the hostile business environment Governor Pritzker has fostered,” Rabine said. “If Pritzker ever had to build a business, he would realize that you need to first take care of your existing customers before marketing and selling to new customers.

Illinois having the highest job loss per capita of any other state makes it obvious to me or any business leader that we must make our business policies and tax environment competitive and rewarding to our loyal Illinois businesses first. Once accomplished under a Rabine administration, I would build an All-Star team of business development leaders to go after every state and allied country selling the story of the new business thriving Illinois.

I know to most this is just common sense, unfortunately we are lacking common sense in the Pritzker administration.”

According to a WalletHub report released in March, Illinois has the highest combination of state and local taxes in the nation on top of one of the most abusive business regulatory environments in the country.

* Related…

* Texas abortion doctor lawsuits filed by allies may go nowhere. The challengers—including one from Illinois—are pro-choice, likely dooming the cases.

* Can Cook County cut ties with companies that donated to Texas abortion ban backers? A county commissioner aims to find out.