US Senator Dick Durbin/Photo courtesy of Senator Durbin's office

by John Gregory–Illinois Radio News

There are as many seven new cases of the measles in Illinois.

Along with the five babies infected at a day care center in Palatine, there are now two other possible cases, one in Lake County and one in Madison County.

Considering Illinois has had only 10 confirmed cases in the last five years, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) says the growing number of anti-vaccination parents may be to blame, and he doesn’t sympathize with their beliefs.

“What if I declared tomorrow that it is my right to drive a car without brakes? It’s my car. I’m the only one that can get hurt, right? Makes no sense, because you’re not just endangering your life and the passengers in your car, you’re endangering a lot of innocent people,” Durbin said.

As for making the measles vaccine mandatory, Durbin says it already is for almost all Illinois public school students, outside of a few with medical, religious, or personal exemptions. What’s changed in recent years is more parents are choosing not to get their kids vaccinated, decisions Durbin feels “needs to be challenged.”