By Illinois Review
Illinois House Republican Minority leader Tony McCombie, Dist. 89, joined the progressive wing of the Democratic Party to support legislation that requires insurance coverage for “cervical” exams for males and “prostate” exams for females in 2023 – just months after her election as leader.
House Bill 2350, which was introduced by Democratic State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, Dist. 14, on February 14, 2023, sought to amend the Illinois Insurance Code and require coverage to include an “annual cervical smear or Pap smear test for all (rather than female) insureds.” The legislation also required coverage to include an “annual prostate cancer screening for insureds (rather than male insureds) upon the recommendation of a physician licensed to practice medicine…”
Fourteen Democratic House members signed on as co-sponors of the bill, including House Speaker Chis Welch as well as nine Senate Democrats – including Senate President Don Harmon, Dist. 39. Not a single Republican attached their name as co-sponors – however, that didn’t stop three Republican House leaders from supporting the bill. In addition to McCombie, Deputy Republican House Leader Norine Hammond, Dist. 94 and House Republican Conference Chairman Jeff Keicher, Dist. 70 also joined Democrats to support the bill.
Over the weekend, Illinois House Freedom Caucus member Jed Davis, Dist. 75, wrote on Facebook, “Pap smears for men and prostate exams for women now law in Illinois. But … even ChatGPT knows this one is nonsense!” Attached to the post was a humorous screen shot of ChatGPT not understanding how a “pap smear” could be offered to someone without a “cervix.”
McCombie oversees a deflated House Republican Caucus where they are in the super minority as Democrats hold a historic super majority over House Republicans – making GOP voices virtually irrelevant in the state’s capitol.
Since the pandemic in 2020, McCombie has accepted campaign donations from the National Education Association – an organization whose state association in Illinois endorsed Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker for governor and Democrat Kwame Raoul for attorney general in 2022; promoted mandates during the pandemic, and helped write the controversial sex education standards that allow teachers to instruct children about gender identity, sexual orientation, hormone blockers and gender expression.
The curriculum has angered parents in Illinois and across the country – and that anger is justified. More than 500 school districts in Illinois have exercised their ability to “opt-out,” declining to teach these outrageous sex education standards to children in their classrooms.
To date, McCombie has received $119,900 in donations from the NEA’s political action committee since 2020.
During the 2020 and 2022 presidential elections, McCombie aligned with the anti-Trump wing of the Republican Party. And when President Trump visited Illinois as President in October 2018, the future House Republican leader was nowhere to be found. When Trump visited Quincy in June of 2022, McCombie was once again missing in action. At Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair in August of 2023, she told the Chicago Tribune, “I’m always so curious as to why is it all about Donald Trump? Why don’t we concentrate about what’s going on in Illinois?”
The legislation was approved by Gov. JB Pritzker on June 9, 2023 and it went into effect on January 1, 2025.
