A fight over a parking spot outside a reproductive health clinic in Illinois has become even more bitter, as the mayor of the city overturned the city council’s decision to revoke a parking permit for a mobile ultrasound van that has been trying to coax women inside when they go to the clinic for abortions.

The Rockford Register Star reports:

Aldermen voted 8-6 tonight to not issue an organization solicitation permit for the next six months to the operators of a mobile ultrasound unit.

Abortion protesters left the four-hour meeting disappointed, saying they would look into legal action if the group is not granted a permit.

After the meeting, however, Mayor Larry Morrissey said he planned to give the protesters what they want despite the City Council’s vote.
….
Morrissey said he would have to consult with staffers about whether the next permit issued to TLC would be a one-day permit, as it was last week, or for a longer time.

“Two things,” he said. “I’m going to issue a permit, and this issue will be back before council. I guarantee it.”

The group has been seeking the parking permit, complaining that without it, clinic staff take the parking spaces outside the clinic, forcing them to not be able to park their mobile home in front or protest on the streets outside.  Local businesses and commuters, meanwhile, have voiced concerns that the large mobile home blocks visibility to businesses and makes traveling hazardous to vehicle operators.