Metro East Sun

Rep. Avery Bourne (R-Raymond) discussed a letter House Republican women sent to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, saying the core purpose of the letter echos a press conference held by House Republicans.

"We need to be back in session," Bourne said during the press conference. "The governor really needs to consult the legislature on this."

Bourne said House Republicans also have ideas to discuss regarding the plan.

"We have ideas on how to implement a safe, responsible regional plan," Bourne said. "He hasn’t really made a real effort to consult the legislature. I was disappointed that out of this entire two-page letter of ideas, the only thing he plucked from that letter was that women in the legislature were concerned about mammograms."

Bourne said while House Republican women are definitely concerned about elective procedure accessibility, she was disappointed in him portraying their concerns as solely about mammograms instead of calling the legislature back to work on a safe reopening plan.

The Illinois House Republican Women's Caucus sent the letter to Pritzker on April 28, seeking answers to specific reopening questions.

"Unfortunately, a majority of our questions and suggestions are not acknowledged," the letter reads. "We reached out to you, but you have not contacted one Republican woman legislator to discuss our concerns, suggestions, or solutions."

The letter states that, as members of a co-equal branch of government, they urge Pritzker to call a special session to work on safely reopening the state regionally.

"We, the women of the House Republican Caucus, ask you to work with us," the letter states. "We are prepared to work on a serious plan to reopen Illinois safely, reasonably, responsibly, and regionally. We request you meet with us collectively as a group to share our ideas and offer solutions."

The Illinois House Republican Women's Caucus wrote that it was prepared to help in the development and implementation of a safe plan to get Illinois back to work.