OSF Buys Back Medical Building From Doctor Who Performs Abortions

Rockford, IL - Wayne Webster owns the Old Turner building on Broadway. He says last week, his only tenant, Dr. Dennis Christensen, who runs an abortion clinic there, told him he was moving his facility. "He said they were going to be moving out immediately and he was not going to renew his lease," says Webster. Dr. Christensens daughter, Kimberly, who works at his clinic in Madison, says her father was looking to relocate to a more modern building in Rockford. Dr. Christensen bought a medical building in Loves Park on May 31st from OSF Health Systems, a Catholic organization based out of Peoria, that owns St. Anthony Hospital. A spokesperson for OSF says after the sale was final, they found out what kind of doctor they sold it to, and worked to get it back. "Its an embarrassing situation," says Gregory Alford, OSF spokesperson. "We couldnt accept his money once we knew his intentions for the space and where the money came from." Webster says on Tuesday he made a deal over the phone with Dr. Christensen. "He said, `If I sell my building back to them, will you renew my lease?`," says Webster. "And I said, ‘Here`s how we should do this. Why don`t you charge them $500,000 more than you paid for it, I`ll split it with you, and put it on your lease. And he said, ‘That sounds like a good deal, I`ll do that." He did just that. OSF re-purchased the building Thursday for three times the amount they sold it for. "The price was worth it," says Alford, "because the damage it would cause to the community was of far greater importance." Neighbors to the Turner Building know all too well what protesters outside an abortion clinic can do to a community. "They come out here every morning with their billboards," says Ra`shawn Bondurant, who lives across the street from the building. "You know, screaming and shouting and acting all belligerent." "At 5 years old, they have a hard enough time comprehending where do babies come from in the first place, let alone why are people cutting up babies and putting pictures of babies on bulletin boards," says Tanya Mailand, who has to shield her grandchildren. Dr. Christensen will stay in the Turner Building for his new one year lease. But his daughter Kimberly says he intends to keep looking for a more modern building to move into. She says hell keep looking in Rockford because they send patients to the facility from Madison because Illinois doesnt have strict abortion regulations like Wisconsin.