Sep 29, 2007 8:05 pm US/Central
Planned Parenthood Decision Slated For Next Week
State's Attorney Deciding Whether Planned Parenthood Officials Broke Law In Applying To Build Center
AURORA, Ill. (Aurora Beacon-News) ―
Kane County State's Attorney John Barsanti will wait until next week to issue his much-anticipated decision on whether officials from Planned Parenthood broke the law in applying to build a women's health center in Aurora.
Planned Parenthood/Chicago Area officials want to open a $7.5 million full-service health center at East New York Street and Oakhurst Drive in the DuPage County section of Aurora.
Abortion services, which Planned Parenthood officials say will account for about 10 percent of the care to be provided there, would be available at the clinic.
Barsanti has been reviewing Planned Parenthood/Gemini Office Development's application, permitting and approval process for possible criminal fraud after anti-abortion activists raised concerns a couple of weeks ago. The state's attorney's office had been expected to release its report on Friday, but officials said the release has been put off to next week, noting "Monday is still viable."
"I spoke with his (Barsanti's) office this morning and it should be released sometime early next week," Carie Anne Ergo, the city's public information officer, said Friday. "We definitely do want to release everything within a pretty close time period."
Barsanti's investigation also includes reviews of two investigations undertaken by two private lawyers on behalf of the city. These reports, by Richard Martens and Phillip Luetkehans, haven't been reviewed yet by city staff or attorneys, and that may take at least a day.
Planned Parenthood had hoped to open the health center on Sept. 18, but the clinic's temporary occupancy permit expired Sept. 17 and it cannot open until after the investigation is completed.
(CBS 2, the Naperville Sun and the Aurora Beacon-News are news partners covering stories in the western suburbs of Chicago.)
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