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Cosgrove to retire

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Illinois

* I somehow missed this press release yesterday…

Personal PAC Board of Directors announces longtime President and CEO Terry Cosgrove will be retiring from his post after the November 2022 election. The Board is extraordinarily grateful to Terry for his 33 years of leadership and his lifelong dedication to protecting reproductive rights for people in Illinois.

Under his guidance, Personal PAC has surpassed the vision of its founders and has delivered upon its mission of improving access to reproductive healthcare, transforming Illinois into a 100 percent pro-choice state. Terry’s tireless political work and advocacy led to the passage of bills such as HB40 and the Reproductive Health Act, the repeal of the parental notification law, and the election of countless pro-choice elected officials, including Gov. J.B. Pritzker. This work has expanded low-income people’s access to healthcare and enshrined the protections of Roe v. Wade into Illinois law.

Personal PAC’s work is not done. Reproductive rights have been severely curtailed in states across the country, and as soon as this summer, the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to remove the constitutional protection on the right to safe and legal abortion care guaranteed by Roe. The leadership transition at Personal PAC will not distract us from the critical work ahead–ensuring that we elect pro-choice candidates to state and local office in the 2022 election is more important than ever and is critical to Illinois remaining the safe haven for reproductive healthcare in the Midwest.

Terry adds, “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as President and CEO of Personal PAC for the past 33 years and to be able to devote my life to protecting the reproductive rights and the ability of all women to shape their lives, dreams and aspirations in the same manner as men. Reproductive rights are fundamental human rights, without which we cannot claim to be a real democracy.” Click here to read his full personal note.

On behalf of Personal PAC’s Board of Directors, we thank Terry for his exemplary stewardship. We will miss his leadership, strength, tenacity, and vision, and we hope to honor his legacy by building upon the standard of excellence in advocacy he has established. We look forward to continuing to ensure that every person in Illinois can access the reproductive healthcare they need.

He took occasional heat for his tactics, but Cosgrove did more to advance that cause than any single Illinoisan I know. The House and Senate weren’t always pro-choice bodies, even with Democratic majorities, until Cosgrove started working races.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 8:13 am

Comments

Delightful friend. Heroic, pain in the …

Comment by walker Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 8:19 am
He will be greatly missed, a true advocate for women.

Comment by South Loop Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 8:23 am
He has certainly been very successful but his tactics were terrible. He took wide latitude with the truth. He is a true and possibly the clearest example of what is wrong with politics. He got Illinois to be very very pro choice in policy but did not accomplish it honorably.

Comment by Help Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 8:39 am
Cosgrove is “what is wrong with politics”? LOL. Ken Griffin is that you?

Comment by Reality Check Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 8:42 am
True advocate for women…”. As for the unborn…..

Comment by Sayitaintso Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 8:45 am
He and his PAC have been good for Illinois “medical” tourism…

Nearly 10,000 women traveled from out of state to have an abortion in Illinois in 2020, a roughly 29% increase compared with the previous year… \

Comment by Donnie Elgin Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 8:47 am
Cosgrove’s legacy is secure. But it’d be good to see some women take his spot as the state’s loudest pro-choice activist.

Comment by Arsenal Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 8:54 am
Spirited, energetic, direct, funny. A pleasure to have worked with him (especially when we won!).

Comment by Ashland Adam Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 9:03 am
-but did not accomplish it honorably-

LOL. Back here in reality he was an effective advocate who held feet to fires. That’s how this business (and the world) works.

Comment by High Socks Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 9:09 am
Cosgrove certainly deserves his due (the HB 40 triangulation of Bruce Rauner he helped Madigan engineer was politically brilliant.)

However, Illinois’ evolution into a purely pro-choice state is more of a reflection of national partisan trends on abortion. Pro-life Democratics have all but disappeared in Congress and every other blue state legislature. Just as pro-choice Republicans have become extinct.

Comment by TNR Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 9:13 am
“ He took occasional heat for his tactics, but Cosgrove did more to advance that cause than any single Illinoisan I know. The House and Senate weren’t always pro-choice bodies, even with Democratic majorities, until Cosgrove started working races.”

One of THE most delightful and genuinely kind while being in his power human beings I have had the pleasure of meeting. Big shoes and heart to fill, don’t care the gender of his successor, hope they find one as good and as dedicated and effective as is he.

Comment by The Hills 60010 Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 9:22 am
TNR makes a good point about party polarization accounting for all current Democratic legislators being pro-choice. Cosgrove represents a special interest group that demands complete fealty to its agenda, just as the NRA-ISRA does to its agenda. The public has never been in sync with extreme agendas on either side of the political spectrum.

Comment by anon2 Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 10:12 am
- He and his PAC have been good for Illinois “medical” tourism… -

And to-abortion folks like to lament the fact that people come from out of state to get abortion care in Illinois. Yet, they fail to take ownership of the reason why this happens. Terry Cosgrove and Personal PAC are not responsible for people being forced to travel to other states to get the health care they need. That credit goes to anti-abortion politicians who have been enacting draconian restrictions on abortion access in their own states. Thankfully, Illinois has been different than the states surrounding it and has recognized that access to a full range of reproductive health care is a right.

Comment by Blue Girl in Red County Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 10:19 am
Oh that autocorrect! I meant “anti-abortion” not “And to-abortion”

Comment by Blue Girl in Red County Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 10:20 am
=== Nearly 10,000 women traveled from out of state to have an abortion in Illinois in 2020, a roughly 29% increase compared with the previous year… ===

So you are admitting other states are likely dangerous to women’s health and Cosgrove has been instrumental to keeping women safe in their health?

Sounds like a legacy one should embrace.

Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 10:22 am
===Cosgrove’s legacy is secure.===

Wish I could share that confidence. A very bad November for Dems could upend it completely.

Comment by Moe Berg Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 10:28 am
- Moe Berg -”Wish I could share that confidence. A very bad November for Dems could upend it completely.”

Your post, spot on.

Comment by The Hills 60010 Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 10:41 am
== A very bad November for Dems could upend it completely. ==

If the Dems crash and burn in November it’s going to have nothing to do with abortion. In fact, the politics of abortion might save them from disaster if the Supreme Court overturns Roe.

Comment by Roman Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 10:52 am
If..

Comment by A Guy Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 10:53 am
==If the Dems crash and burn in November it’s going to have nothing to do with abortion.==

I think Berg’s point is that if Dems lose too many races in November, for whatever reason, Illinois’ commendable expansion of reproductive rights could be rolled back. And that’s true, but they’d have to lose enough races for Republicans to take the GA, which would be…quite unexpected.

And, I mean, if Republicans were to get a state trifecta and they immediately used it to roll back reproductive rights, well, they wouldn’t hold that trifecta for long.

Comment by Arsenal Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 11:00 am
===Cosgrove’s legacy is secure.===
–A very bad November for Dems could upend it completely. –

But will his politics play in Peoria? Oh wait…
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10156879288652323

Comment by Billy Rubin Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 11:01 am
Democrats can pretend taxpayer funded abortion is popular despite every single poll debunking that

60% of voters and a plurality of Democratic women oppose taxpayer funded abortion

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/06/joe-biden-hyde-amendment-democratic-support.html

https://www.newsweek.com/democrats-should-listen-their-constituents-taxpayer-funded-abortion-opinion-1592280?amp=1

Comment by Lucky Pierre Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 11:04 am
- Billy Rubin -

Did you just cite… “Facebook”?

Aren’t you the same person who is siding with Russia?

I mean… if one wants to run as a pro-life candidate in Illinois, statewide, I’m sure those like Cosgrove would welcome that opportunity to help pro-choice candidates up and down the ballot.

Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 11:04 am
Re: GOP trifecta / not for long

Those two Supreme Court seats are 10 years, and would pretty much guarantee a 4-3 GOP majority over that time.

Governor is 4 years.

Nothing prevents a second redistricting that could improve, to some degree, GOP odds.

Comment by Moe Berg Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 11:23 am
=== 60% of voters and a plurality of Democratic women oppose taxpayer funded abortion===

You think running as a “quasi-pro-choice” candidate as a Republican will be a good stance?

You are clueless to what the issue is when parsing this, as the GOP as constituted is staunchly “pro-life” and having wiggle room (exceptions, funding, etc) only alienates the GOP base.

You should ask Rauner about that.

I mean Diana Rauner, not Bruce.

:)

Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 11:30 am
==Those two Supreme Court seats are 10 years, and would pretty much guarantee a 4-3 GOP majority over that time. ==

Let me take a step back and clarify that when I said Cosgrove’s legacy was secure, I wasn’t guaranteeing any particular policy outcomes. Apparently not guaranteeing them isn’t good enough, I also have to say I’m not guaranteeing them. I’ll certainly concede that if everything goes right for Republicans in the next 2-4 years, they could roll back reproductive rights in IL.

But what I’m saying is that Cosgrove’s accomplishments will remain whatever they are.

I do think that Republicans are unlikely to win a trifecta in November, and that if they do, they’re unlikely to prioritize rolling back reproductive rights, and that if they, do they’re unlikely to succeed at it, and that if they do, they’re unlikely to hold the trifecta for too long after they do. But even if I’m wrong, Cosgrove’s track record of policy wins will remain impressive.

Comment by Arsenal Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 11:46 am
D’accord Arsenal. Thank you for the constructive engagement.

Comment by Moe Berg Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 12:05 pm
He outlasted Madigan which he’s gotta love. Terry was a great advocate and his work made Illinois a a better place.

Comment by ArchPundit Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 1:53 pm
What a Titan he is. So thankful for all he has done.
His successor will inherit a well run operation.

Comment by Honeybear Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 1:59 pm
Terry is a real gem, and will be sorely missed.

Comment by Anon Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 2:37 pm

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