George Dunne Helped Penny Pullen's HIV Bills

Many people might remember what brought down George Dunne, but probably no one knows how he helped protect Illinoisans from the spread of HIV.

He had to go around the radicals who were running Cook County Hospital to do it.

What brought him into the issue was a bill sponsored by State Rep. Penny Pullen (R-Park Ridge) that required health care workers involved in invasive procedures to tell patients if they were HIV-infected. Some physician at County Hospital was HIV-infected and Dunne was trying to assign him to administrative duties over the objections of his left-leaning advocates.

In Springfield, the health committee was, as usual, dominated by liberals, who had already cleared the AIDS Confidentiality Act that tied the hands of public health officials.

For the same committee to approve a comprehensive public protection package required divine intervention, in this case, of the human variety.

That intervener was George Dunne.

And, because of that intervention, Illinois did not go the way New York and California. Our HIV laws are a mixed bag, but relatively protective of the public’s health.

Dunne's wife, Claudia, is Chairman of the National Day of Prayer for Chicago.

A summary of May stories on McHenry County Blog can be found here.