Iowa takes heat from the federal government for banning mask mandates in schools, Democrats in Illinois draw new political maps with Republicans crying foul they missed the deadline and violated the state constitution and that familiar wedge issue, abortion, finds itself prominently back in the national debate after the U.S. Supreme Court recently allowed a restrictive law in Texas take effect.
We covered all of that on this week’s 4 The Record with former Iowa State Representative David Millage and former AFSCME Local 46 President Gregg Johnson.
Abortion
Emotions are running high in Texas after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to block a law that essentially prohibits abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
It’s a point when a lot of women don’t know they’re pregnant.
The 5-4 vote saw conservative Chief Justice John Roberts join the three liberal justices in dissent.
There are some temporary restraining orders keeping it from taking effect.
Other Republican controlled states could follow suit.
The U.S. Justice Department is trying to figure out ways to challenge the Texas law. It basically overturns Roe v. Wade.
Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch both testified during their confirmation hearings that Roe v. Wade was settled law.
Yet, they voted to let the Texas law take effect.
There is a potential landmark abortion case from Mississippi headed to the high court in the next term.
Millage and Johnson addressed if this is the end of the line for Roe v. Wade and what they think the outcome is likely to be.
Illinois maps
Democrats in charge of the Illinois legislature pushed through their latest political district maps recently during a special session.
They were done again because the maps drawn earlier this year weren’t based on Census data. The néw maps are.
But Republicans claim Democrats violated the state constitution by missing the deadline and the maps should be determined by an independent commission.
The maps can help the party in power stay in power.
Both parties in states across the country do this.
Johnson and Millage discussed if the Democrats crossed the line and if the delayed Census data from the pandemic is a valid excuse.
Iowa masks
Iowa is among five states that got the attention of the U.S. Department of Education recently — and not in a good way.
The department will investigate whether the state violated civil rights by banning mask mandates in schools.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds responded, maintaining she believes Iowans make the best decisions for their families:
“In Iowa, we will continue to support individual liberty over government mandates.”
Millage and Johnson talked about if the the ban on mask mandates is a mandate itself, if the governor’s claim of prioritizing individual liberty over mandates apply to abortion and how successful they think the federal government’s muscle can be.
Watch the video above for the entire discussion.
Question of the week
Local 4 News, your local election headquarters, is proud to present 4 The Record, a weekly news and public affairs program focused on the issues important to you. It’s a program unlike any other here in the Quad Cities. Tune in each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. as Jim Niedelman brings you up to speed on what’s happening in the political arena, from Springfield, Des Moines, Washington, D.C. and right here at home.