Disputed new Planned Parenthood clinic to open

A suburban Planned Parenthood clinic prohibited from opening after antiabortion activists raised questions about how it received its building permits will be allowed to open, city officials said Monday.

Mayor Tom Weisner said reviews by three different attorneys found no legal basis to deny an occupancy permit to the clinic, and the permit was issued Monday afternoon.

Planned Parenthood said it would start seeing patients at the building today.

“It’s always a victory when we can expand access to reproductive healthcare services, including abortion services,” said Steve Trombley, the president of Planned Parenthood’s Chicago affiliate. “If our opponents block us from entering any community, it opens the door to them blocking us from going into every community.”

The 22,000-square-foot, $7.5-million building, which was supposed to open last month, has been the target of antiabortion protesters, who accused Planned Parenthood of deceiving the city into granting building permits.

The chapter that will run the facility, Planned Parenthood/Chicago Area, applied for permits under the subsidiary name Gemini Office Development. It became public knowledge in late July that Planned Parenthood would occupy the space.

Planned Parenthood officials said they were trying to protect the clinic’s staff and construction workers from round-the-clock protests, but there was no effort to defraud city officials.