Sex education standardization, lead pipe removal bills advance in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD – Utilities providing water in Illinois would have to replace all leading service lines, and schools across the state would have to adhere to new standards for sex education curricula under bills passed in the General Assembly on Friday.

The proposed lead replacement notification law would require “water utilities across the country to replace all lead and set up a low-income water support program to fund financial assistance and water projects that include lead replacement,” it said in a press release the adoption of the bill.

“Lead is a health threat that is poisoning our children, undermining our residents’ trust in our city government, and costing billions of dollars,” Senator Melinda Bush, D-Grayslake, said in a statement.

“This is a doable and equitable way forward that would require all cities in Illinois to address an issue that we know is the most damaging to black and Latinx communities.”

The bill passed the Senate and is going back to the House of Representatives to allow its members to vote on changes made since leaving that Chamber.

Senator Melinda Bush in 2016. Santiago Covarrubias / Sun-Times File

After heated debate, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would change the state sex education curriculum to include “comprehensive personal health and safety education in kindergarten through 5th grade.

From the second grade onwards, students learn to define consent, gender identity, and different types of families, including cohabiting and same-sex couples.

State Representative Camille Lilly, D-Chicago, said the bill she sponsored would “provide young people with the information and skills they need to be safe and healthy.”

Republican State Representative Tony McCombie of Savanna called on members to vote no, as the bill goes “far beyond health, wellness and safety for our children.”

“Everyone wants to educate our youth, we want our youth to be safe and secure, but this bill, like so many others in this House, goes way too far,” said McCombie.

State Rep. Tony McCombie, screenshot from R-SavannaFile

But MP Kelly Cassidy, a gay Democrat from the North Side, spoke out in favor of the law, saying, “As a kid who didn’t understand why I didn’t fit in, who couldn’t define why I felt different, and to their parents was not an option … I wish I had had a curriculum that didn’t call me unnatural. “

The bill was passed 60:48 and is now on the governor’s desk.

The state Senate also included a bill prohibiting law enforcement from stopping, arresting, searching, or arresting anyone “solely on the basis of a person’s citizenship or immigration status.”

Republicans protested, saying it would “tie the hands” of law enforcement agencies.

The law also prohibits law enforcement agencies and officials from inquiring about or investigating “the citizenship or immigration status or place of birth of any person in the custody of the authority or officer or who has otherwise been stopped or detained by the authority or officer”. And it rules out new prison contracts between Illinois law enforcement and U.S. immigration and customs officials. Existing contracts could expire.

“This bill aims to limit police cooperation with immigration authorities and ensure that immigrant families in Illinois can cooperate with law enforcement,” said sponsor of the law, Senator Omar Aquino, D-Chicago.

State Senator Omar Aquino in 2016.Rich Hein / Sun-Times file

Aquino stated that the bill was not a “free pass to prison” as undocumented immigrants who committed another crime continue to be investigated for those crimes.

Quincy Republican Senator Jil Tracy opposed a provision prohibiting law enforcement from inquiring into or investigating the place of birth or immigration status of a detainee.

“This is still tying the hand of Illinois law enforcement to get their job done,” Tracy said.

Aquino told Tracy the bill doesn’t prevent law enforcement from doing their job.

“It is not the job of local law enforcement to do the job of the ICE, that is not their role,” said Aquino. “They are not enforcers of immigrants. They should serve and protect, not support the separation of families in our communities. “

The bill passed the Senate 36 to 19 and went to the House of Representatives. A Democrat, Senator Rachelle Crowe, D-Maryville, voted against the measure.

The Senate also unanimously passed a bill that would allow special school students to complete the school semester when they turn 22.

“When a special education student turns 22 on our high school program, he or she will be removed from the program immediately. This results in countless students being forced to leave before the end of the school year, “said Bill Cunningham, Senator Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago.” It’s not fair to our students. “