House Bill 2827 fails to pass Illinois House. Some Democrats spoke out against bill regulating Illinois homeschool practices while the sponsor says, "it is necessary to ensure homeschool children are protected."
Photo: Steven Weirather/Pixabay
A young student does research on her laptop at home. According to opponents, House Bill 2827 creates a lot of red tape for homeschooled children. It would make schools pass records up through several layers of government and require tracking down families to review what they’re teaching and whether their kids are skipping school or not. The measure failed to make it out of the Illinois House on Friday.
By Greg Bishop.::. Associate Editor The Center Square
SPRINGFIELD - Homeschool parents worried about the state of Illinois imposing regulations on the practice have a reprieve after the measure failed to advance.
House Bill 2827 accumulated tens of thousands of opponent witness slips filed against it since the measure was filed earlier this year. Sponsor, state Rep. Terra Costa Howard, D-Glen Ellyn, rose Friday to announce the bill isn’t ready, but said it is necessary to ensure homeschool children are protected.
“To the victims who are out there: We see you, we hear you and we will keep fighting for you,” she said.
Costa Howard said she was keeping the measure held on third leading into the Friday deadline to pass House bills to the Senate. She defended the measure, saying it does not mandate curriculum, but does require homeschool families to report to government officials that they homeschool, or they could face truancy charges.
“It truly is a simple form that can protect families from those nosey neighbors,” she said.
Homeschool parents worried about the state of Illinois imposing regulations on the practice have a reprieve after the measure failed to advance.
The fight isn’t over for opponents.
Tens of thousands of opponents filed witness slips against the measure since it was introduced earlier this year. Some Democrats spoke out against the measure, saying it could criminalize homeschool parents raising and teaching their children how they see fit.
Republican state Rep. Amy Elik said the bill was “doomed from the beginning.”
“A simple form was not so simple was it? It created burdens on families across Illinois, our entire school system,” Elik said, “and nobody seems to care that that was going to cost our schools and our families valuable resources that could be spent instead of fixing our public school system that often fails children.”
Elik said she’s glad the measure is being held, but she said the fight isn’t over for opponents.
“I can tell you our families still feel like they are under attack and walking on eggshells in Illinois,” she said. “That happens all the time in this chamber.”
The measure will be held, but could come back up in some fashion before the scheduled end of session May 31.
Legislators are off next week. The House returns April 22. The Senate returns April 29.
There was heated debate when lawmakers took up House Bill 3527 involving school mascots. Bill would prohibit schools from using a name, logo, or mascot that is derogatory or representative of a disabled individual or group.
Photo: Max Vakhtbovycn/PEXELS
The Illinois House passed HB3564, which prohibits landlords from charge fees for the processing, reviewing, or accepting of an application, or demand any other payment, fee, or charge before or at the beginning of the tenancy. Landlords may not call the fee or charges something else to avoid application of these provisions. It also limits fees the total amount that can be collected for late fees.
By Kevin Bessler.::. Staff Reporter The Center Square
SPRINGFIELD - It was a busy day for the Illinois House of Representatives Tuesday with a slew of bills passing through the chamber.
One measure, House Bill 3564, prohibits a landlord from imposing a move-in fee for renters. It also limits fees for the late payment of rent to a one-time $15 fee for every $1,500 of rent. Democratic state Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Waukegan, said that amount is pointless.
“As a landlord, I’m going to tell you that $15 is not punitive enough to force anyone to pay their rent on time,” said Mayfield. “We have a lot of problems with individuals who don’t want to pay their rent and having the ability to charge a daily late fee actually spurs them to pay their rent.”
The measure passed by a vote of 61-43 and is headed to the Senate for consideration.
There was heated debate when lawmakers took up House Bill 3527 involving school mascots. State Rep. Maurice West’s bill would prohibit schools from using a name, logo, or mascot that is derogatory or representative of a disabled individual or group.
“This is something that is exploiting a community and if there is an inkling of injustice somewhere, there’s a threat to justice everywhere,” said West, D-Rockford.
The particular school that drew West’s ire is Freeburg High School and their mascot the “Midgets”, a community several hundred miles from his district. The school is located in state Rep. Kevin Schmidt’s district, who said the community is proud of the mascot.
“It’s going to blow up,” said Schmidt, R-Millstadt. “It’s not going to have the effect that you want. This is a local issue, the local school board should be voting on it, not the state overreaching.”
The measure passed 71-38 and if passed by the Senate, the law would require schools to adopt a new mascot by Sept. 1st, 2028.
The House also approved the Illinois Sexual Assault Survivor Treatment Act in House Bill 2805 sponsored by House Minority Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, which prohibits insurance co-pays for sexual assault exams. The measure now heads to the Senate.
When Steve Stierwalt studied agriculture at the University of Illinois in the 1970s, soil health wasn’t commonly taught or discussed. Faculty often told their young farming students to put all their faith in commercial fertilizers.
But over his 40 years as a corn and soybean farmer in Champaign County, Stierwalt said soil erosion, which can cause fertilizer and manure runoff to end up in nearby rivers and streams, has become an increasingly serious problem.
“When we plowed, we plowed pretty much everything,” except for a row near the fence line, Stierwalt said. “The grass near the fence row kept getting taller, it seemed to me. I came to understand that it wasn’t the fence row getting taller, it was the soil in the fields that was getting shorter.”
In the early 2010s, Stierwalt started experimenting with cover crops, which can help hold soil in place and reduce runoff pollution.
“This valuable resource that we take for granted, we were letting it get away,” Stierwalt said. “We have some of the best soil in the world here, and we have to protect it.”
Six years ago, Illinois became the second state in the nation to offer subsidies to farmers for planting cover crops in the fall, an effort to reverse its status as one of the worst states for agriculture runoff. Demand for the Fall Cover for Spring Savings program — which offers a $5 per acre discount on the following year’s crop insurance premiums — has outpaced state funding every year since.
However, despite the program’s popularity and calls from environmentalists and farmers for its funding to increase, Gov. JB Pritzker has proposed a 31% funding cut.
Pritzker, a Democrat, recently proposed an overall $2 billion increase to next year’s state budget. But he also recommended cuts to several programs, including reducing the cover crop insurance credit budget from $960,000 to $660,000.
Pritzker’s office did not respond to a request for comment but the governor referenced program cuts in a recent address.
Photo: Jennifer Bamberg/Investigate Midwest
Kristopher Reynolds, Midwest Director for American Farmland Trust and a fifth generation farmer in Nokomis, is pictured at the Illinois State Capitol on March 12, 2025. He works with farmers and landowners on conservation cropping practices to meet the goals of Illinois’ Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy.
“I have made difficult decisions — including to programs I have championed, which is hard for me,” Pritzker said during his State of the State and budget address in February.
Two state lawmakers introduced bills this legislative session to increase the program’s annual funding to $6.1 million. They say it's crucial to support the practice, which will benefit communities in Illinois and beyond.
It's an investment because you know you're doing right by the environment. You know you're doing right by your land, and long term, you're going to build your soil health, and that will impact your bottom line.
Ed Dubrick small pasture poultry farmer Cissna Park Illinois
The bills did not clear a recent committee deadline. However, lawmakers can still negotiate funding for the program as they continue to work to pass a budget by the end of May.
Illinois is one of the leading states for farm fertilizer runoff and one of the top contributors to the Gulf of Mexico’s dead zone, a barren area of around 4,500 square miles of coastal waters deadly to fish, shrimp and other marine life. It costs the region’s fishing and tourism industry millions annually.
Runoff from Illinois farms has only worsened, according to a 2023 state study. Between 2017 and 2021, average nitrate-nitrogen loads increased by 4.8%, and total phosphorus loads increased by 35%, compared to the 1980-1996 baseline.
Nutrient levels were highest between 2016 and 2020 before declining slightly. The improvement was attributed to regulatory permits on wastewater treatment plants, which also pollute waterways.
However, nitrate levels remain well above the state’s reduction goals.
Less than 6% of Illinois farmland uses cover crops
The soil in Illinois is famously fertile and much of the land is flat. The soil isn’t highly erodible like soil on a slope or a hill might be. But when fields are left bare after harvest, the soil can easily blow away in the wind or wash away in storms, depositing fertilizers and chemicals into waterways.
Cover crops, which include winter wheat, crimson clover, cereal rye, oats or radish, are planted after harvest and before winter. The crops can reduce soil erosion, break up compacted soil, provide a habitat for beneficial insects and wildlife, and prevent latent fertilizer from leaching into rivers and streams.
Since the Fall Cover for Spring Savings program began in 2019, the Illinois Department of Agriculture has received more applications than the program can fund.
This year, the program sold out in two hours.
Under current funding levels, only 200,000 acres are available, which advocates say is too small.
“At the rate conservation is being invested in right now for agriculture, it would take 200 years to hit the goals under the Nutrient Reduction Strategy. And that’s assuming … there would be new adopters,” said Eliot Clay, executive director of the statewide Association of Soil and Water Conservation District.
The Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS) is a statewide, multi-agency effort to reduce the amount of nutrients in Illinois waterways and the Gulf of Mexico. The policy working group’s latest report, produced in 2023, found that to meet just half of its goals of reducing runoff, nearly all of Illinois’ corn and soybean farmers would need to adopt cover crops.
“It doesn’t mean the state won’t meet the goal,” a spokesperson for the NLRS team at University of Illinois Extension said in an emailed statement to Investigate Midwest. “There is quite a bit of variability of riverine nutrient loads at watershed scales for nitrogen and phosphorus.”
However, the spokesperson added that more research, data acquisition, and planning are needed at watershed scales.
Out of the state’s 26.3 million acres of farmland, an estimated 3% to 6% grew cover crops in 2022, according to USDA data.
Kristopher Reynolds, Midwest director for American Farmland Trust and a fifth-generation farmer in Nokomis, said Illinois needs to see cover crop adoption of at least 15% and more state and federal incentives are needed.
The Gulf Hypoxia Task Force, a federally funded program through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has provided additional funding to supplement the cover crop program. However, the Trump administration’s freeze of some federal grants might put those funds at risk.
Earlier this year, the Illinois Department of Agriculture was awarded a $25 million grant from the EPA to support conservation practices for the next three years.
“We don't know the status (of the grant),” said Jerry Costello II, director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture, while speaking to the House Appropriations Committee on March 12. “Last that we've heard, things looked good. But that's been a while."
“We've got two and a half months left in this process in Illinois, right?” added Costello, citing the time the state has to finalize its 2026 budget, which begins in July 2025. “Two and a half months plus or minus. So surely we'll have some guidance … we certainly hope so.”
Because of the sheer scale of the agriculture industry, government regulations requiring conservation practices can be difficult to carry out, said Clay, the executive director of the Soil and Water Conservation District.
Farmland covers 75% of the entire state of Illinois, and even if all farmers employed precision sensors to track runoff points, it would cost billions, Clay said.
There would also need to be an army of workers to track and enforce regulations.
However, “industry self-regulating usually doesn't work, and it hasn't worked in ag, because that's basically what they've been doing for the most part,” Clay said. What’s needed, he added, is more public-private partnerships.
Stierwalt, the farmer in Champaign County, helped develop STAR, or Saving Tomorrow’s Agricultural Resources, which gives farmers a five-star score based on their conservation practices.
The state adopted the framework in 2023 to support the state's nutrient loss reduction goals.
Stierwalt said the ultimate goal is to get companies to purchase agricultural commodities based on the rating system.
If the public and industries that rely on agricultural goods for ethanol or food products want sustainably raised crops, then the farmers will grow them, he said.
Cover crop barriers include both cost and culture
Cover crops have long-term benefits but can be expensive and require extra work. Crop yields may even decrease during the first few years.
Cover crops cost roughly $35 to $40 an acre, and farmers don’t make a direct profit from it. The crops are planted in the fall and aren’t harvested. Instead, as the plants die and decompose, they provide nutrients back into the soil for the new commodity crop. Some farmers terminate the crops with chemical herbicides.
But the $5 an acre from the Fall Cover for Spring Savings program acts as an incentive for doing the right thing, which will pay off later, said Ed Dubrick, a small pasture poultry farmer in Cissna Park who also farms vegetables with his wife.
“It's an investment because you know you're doing right by the environment,” Dubrick said. “You know you're doing right by your land, and long term, you're going to build your soil health, and that will impact your bottom line.”
There are also cultural barriers to planting cover crops. Row crop farmers often pride themselves on tidy, neat rows, and cover cropping and no-till can leave fields looking messy.
Walter Lynn, a retired certified public accountant and farmer in Springfield, said farmers sometimes only cover crop fields that are out of sight from their neighbors or the road because they’re afraid they’ll be judged.
At a recent soil health conference in Omaha, Lynn said he met a farmer who believes he can’t openly discuss his practices with his equipment dealer, saying, “There's a vulnerability that ag doesn't deal well with.” But at the conference, Lynn said the farmer found a welcoming atmosphere: “It's so good to come to this space at this meeting … I feel like I'm a member of the cover crop witness protection.”
Homeschooling is on the rise and some school administrators are very concerned that they’re losing tax resources with declining enrollment numbers.
Representative Terra Costa Howard (D-Lombard) is targeting homeschooling families with HB 2827, claiming that she wants to protect children from parents “who don’t do it the right way...”
During a committee hearing last week, she argued that government officials “have a duty to ensure that children actually receive an education and that they don’t fall through the cracks of our system.”
Yet, according to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), less than 32 percent of high school seniors can read and less than 27 percent are proficient in Math.
ISBE reports an 88 percent graduation rate, which means that more than 228,000 students are being left behind.
Where is the concern about these students who are “falling through the cracks?”
Furthermore, students’ physical wellbeing is at risk. A 2018 Chicago Tribune investigation revealed over 500 cases of sexual abuse and rape by Chicago Public School staff against students over a decade, exposing grave deficiencies in hiring, training, reporting, and oversight.
This led to the creation of the Sexual Allegations Unit (SAU), which has reported 446 complaints of sexual misconduct in 2023, and 469 new complaints of adult-on-student abuse in 2024.
We know that these serious problems are not limited to Chicago schools. Public school systems across the state are failing in their responsibilities of educating and protecting children in their care.
Representative Howard doesn’t seem to understand that bureaucrats have proven themselves to be disqualified from doing the job that she thinks they can do.
Moreover: why diminish educational freedom in Illinois? Why usurp parental rights just to expand failing government authority over more students? Why try to fix something that doesn’t need fixing?
HB 2827 would punish families who do not file a declaration form with up to 30 days in prison and a $500 fine. This is alarming. Why would she separate families over a missing document?
This bill is unwarranted. Decades of homeschooling success demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt that HB 2827 is a solution in search of a problem.
It is foolish to criminalize some of the best people in the state: Loving parents who want to educate, nurture and equip their children to be future productive members of society.
David E. Smith, Executive Director
Illinois Family Institute
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The proposal does not reflect the priorities of Black Illinoisans or address the historical disparities they continue to face.
CHICAGO - Illinois' Legislative Latino Caucus and Black Caucus have responded to Governor JB Pritzker's budget address he delivered last week, and each criticized the lack of support for their constituents across the state.
In his speech, the governor outlined a $2 billion spending increase without tax increases. Some proposed cuts include eliminating Medicaid-like coverage for noncitizen adults ages 42-65 as a way to make up for the state's budget gap, which is estimated to top $3 billion.
Kareem Kenyatta, owner of the Third Reading Consulting Group and a legislative consultant, said federal policy changes may be a contributing factor, while its sister program for immigrant seniors remains off the chopping block for now.
"It'd be one thing if you had a federal government that was willing to come in and back you on initiatives like that," Kenyatta observed. "But in fact it's the exact opposite, where not only are you going to get less funding as a state but you may be punished even more for embracing these policies."
Priztker's office estimated cutting the Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults program would save the state $330 million. The budget would be the largest in state history, totaling over $55 billion, a roughly $2 billion increase from last year.
Kenyatta noted some Black Caucus members have pushed back, saying the proposal does not reflect the priorities of Black Illinoisans or address the historical disparities they continue to face.
"I do think this is something worth watching as the budget process plays out," Kenyatta emphasized. "Usually, you have the party that's in control -- which in Illinois is the Democratic Party -- usually folks are on the same page and they can construct a budget together, even in tough years like this one."
Together, members of the Black Caucus and Latino Caucus make up about one-quarter of the General Assembly. Kenyatta added it will be important for them to address any divisions incited by the governor's proposals in order to meet the May 31 deadline to pass the budget.
Stacy Davis Gates, CTU president, reaffirmed the state's sanctuary status and the union's fight to uphold it.
CHICAGO - As Illinois parents and children continue to be on high alert amid fears of school immigration raids, school officials are publicly advocating for the rights and safety of students. Circulating reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents showing up to some schools across the state continue. School attendance is dropping in some areas. This week, the Chicago Teachers Union staged walk-ins at several schools and teachers at more than a hundred others joined them as part of a national day of action against the Trump administration's deportation sweeps.
Photo: Erik Mclean/Unsplash
Stacy Davis Gates, CTU president, reaffirmed the state's sanctuary status and the union's fight to uphold it.
"We are the only school district in the state that has any policy protocol regarding sanctuary to date," she said.
Last month, State Superintendent of Schools Tony Sanders issued a directive to schools across the state reminding them of their obligation to protect students' rights within their buildings. It outlined protections of students regardless of their immigration status and how to prepare if ICE agents show up.
During a recent school visit, Governor J.B. Pritzker called the increase in empty desks a big concern.
Gaby Pacheco, CEO of Dream.US, a national scholarship fund for undocumented students, says the policies and statements coming from the Trump administration are inciting ongoing trauma with dire consequences.
"The stress that these children are facing is unimaginable. With the constant threat of raids and the cruel scare tactics being used, their young lives are being consumed by fear. We've heard horrifying words from the Trump administration, words that claim there is no mercy for them," she said.
U.S. border czar Tom Homan accused Pritzker of scaring children after misinformation circulated about ICE showing up at a predominantly Latino elementary school in Chicago. Residents, however, continue to push back against the Trump administration's immigration policy changes. On Monday, some businesses and restaurants across Chicago closed, and some students stayed home from school as part of a nationwide boycott known as "A Day Without Immigrants."
SPRINGFIELD - Illinois could become the first state to fully decriminalize sex work among consenting adults, under a new proposal introduced by two state lawmakers.
The legislation, unveiled Monday by State Sen. Celina Villanueva (D-Chicago) and State Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago), seeks to remove criminal penalties for adults engaged in consensual paid sex. It would also expunge arrest and conviction records for sex workers, establish a sex workers’ bill of rights, and create protections against abuses by law enforcement.
Currently, Illinois law classifies prostitution as a misdemeanor, with penalties for both sex workers and their clients. The proposed measure would not alter existing laws that make solicitation of minors a felony.
If enacted, Illinois would go further than any other state in decriminalizing sex work. While Nevada allows prostitution in licensed brothels in certain counties, and Maine recently decriminalized the sale of sex but not its purchase, no state has fully decriminalized the industry as Illinois lawmakers are advocating.
Supporters of the legislation, including advocacy groups such as Equality Illinois and the American Civil Liberties Union, argue that decriminalization is critical to improving safety and access to resources for sex workers, particularly for marginalized communities. Transgender individuals, they say, are disproportionately affected by violence within the industry.
"Seventy-five percent of all sex workers will experience sexual violence during their careers," Brian Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois, told Axios. "Nearly two-thirds of transgender people killed in the past 15 years were sex workers."
A study published in the American Journal of Public Health estimates that 45% to 75% of sex workers in Illinois will encounter violence while working. Advocates argue that fear of arrest often prevents workers from reporting abuse, creating an environment in which perpetrators operate with impunity.
Critics of the proposal, however, contend that decriminalization could lead to harmful consequences.
"Taking advantage of the super-majority in both chambers, these Democrats want ‘private choices’ about the use of one's body to be a civil right protected by law," said David Smith, executive director of the Illinois Family Institute. "This flawed thinking will only increase incidents of rape, assault and murder."
Smith further described prostitution as “inherently immoral,” arguing that it objectifies and exploits individuals involved, treating them as consumable products rather than human beings. He also warned that decriminalization could empower the criminal underworld and fuel demand for sex-trafficked victims, including children.
Under current Illinois law, individuals convicted of prostitution can face up to one year in jail and fines. Critics of the existing system say it drives the industry underground, leaving workers vulnerable to exploitation and unable to access legal protections afforded to other professions.
The proposed legislation also seeks to modernize state statutes by removing what advocates describe as dehumanizing language. Additionally, it would ensure that court records related to consensual sex work are automatically sealed.
While proponents view the bill as a step toward addressing systemic inequities and violence, opponents argue that decriminalization could exacerbate existing problems. The proposal’s introduction marks the beginning of what is expected to be a contentious debate in Springfield as Illinois considers whether to become the first state to adopt comprehensive decriminalization of sex work.
Some Illinois state lawmakers plan to introduce a bill to legalize prostitution in the Land of Lincoln. This proposal would expunge past criminal arrests and conviction records.
Taking advantage of the super-majority in both chambers, these Democrats want "private choices" about the use of one's body to be a civil right protected by law. This flawed thinking will only increase incidents of rape, assault and murder.
Prostitution is inherently immoral. It objectifies and exploits those involved as consumable products, instead of human beings made in the image of God. Moreover, it empowers the criminal underworld, fueling the demand for sex trafficked victims - including children.
At a time when sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia are increasing, state lawmakers are foolish to promote an industry dedicated to sexual promiscuity. For two years in a row now, public health officials have issued warnings about the sexually transmitted virus, monkeypox, predominantly spread among gay and bisexual men. Is HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B, and HPV no longer a concern? Prostitution exacerbates these diseases.
A chief task of our legislators is to promote the public health. Legalizing prostitution would undermine this priority by spreading disease and fostering a culture that objectifies human beings as merely sexual outlets to be purchased. Sadly, it will contribute to rising rates of family dysfunction and breakdown.
David E. Smith, Executive Director
Illinois Family Institute
SPRINGFIELD - Voting is open for Illinois residents until Feb. 14 to choose a new state flag. After reviewing more than 4,800 entries for the Illinois state flag redesign contest, the Illinois Flag Commission opened public voting last week. Residents can vote online for one of 10 new designs, to keep the current Illinois flag, or for two former flag designs — the state's 1918 centennial flag or the 1968 sesquicentennial flag.
The online vote is nonbinding but will be included in a report that the Illinois Flag Commission will present to the Illinois General Assembly before April 1. After the commission delivers its final report, the General Assembly will decide whether to adopt a new flag or keep the current one.
The current Illinois flag features the state seal on a white background. The bicentennial flag consists of 10 stars on each side of a white and blue banner, with a larger 21st star representing Illinois as the 21st state admitted to the United States. The sesquicentennial flag has a dark blue field with an orange image of the state in the middle of a white "I," surrounded by 20 stars in a circle and a larger 21st star in the upper right corner.
Voting is open now and can be done at https://apps.ilsos.gov/stateflag/. Voters can vote multiple times and can select one flag once every 24-hour period. If you have multiple favorites, you can vote for a different flag each day. Selections cannot be altered after a vote is casted on the website.
Members of the flag commission include: Najjar Abdul-Musawwir, Benjamin Grantham Aldred, Terri Bryant (Senator), Tim Butler, Sherrell L. Byrd, Jr., Cristina Colunga, Andrew Conneen, Sierra Force, George Howard, Dave Joens, Gabrielle Lyon, Tim Mellman, Matthew G. Prochaska, Tom Rooney, Michelle Renae Smith, Will Stephens, Dr. Tandra Taylor, Toby Trimmer, Doris Turner (Senator), Dave Vella (Representative), and Tom Weber (Representative).
PONTIAC - People everywhere are conquering their cabin fever and are enjoying the great outdoors after a long, bitter winter. But before you head out for that hike, health care experts remind you to take precautions to avoid tick bites. Read more . . .
I’ve always known my Arab culture is worth celebrating.
I heard it in Syrian tenor Sabah Fakhri’s powerful voice reverberating in my mom’s car on the way to piano lessons and soccer practice during my youth. I smelled it in the za’atar, Aleppo pepper, allspice, and cumin permeating the air in the family kitchen. Read more . . .
CHAMPAIGN - In a show of solidarity against President Donald Trump's trade and immigration policies, which critics say are harming families and retirement savings, more than a thousand protesters gathered Saturday at West Park near downtown Champaign for the Hands-Off! Mobilization rally. Read more . . .
Photo Galleries
A couple of runners found themselves in the wrong race at this year's Illinois Marathon. Over 60 photos from the race that you should see.
By Greg Bishop .::. Associate Editor
SPRINGFIELD - Illinois could become the first state to fully decriminalize sex work among consenting adults, under a new proposal introduced by two state lawmakers.
The legislation, unveiled Monday by State Sen. Celina Villanueva (D-Chicago) and State Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago), seeks to remove criminal penalties for adults engaged in consensual paid sex. It would also expunge arrest and conviction records for sex workers, establish a sex workers’ bill of rights, and create protections against abuses by law enforcement.
Currently, Illinois law classifies prostitution as a misdemeanor, with penalties for both sex workers and their clients. The proposed measure would not alter existing laws that make solicitation of minors a felony.
If enacted, Illinois would go further than any other state in decriminalizing sex work. While Nevada allows prostitution in licensed brothels in certain counties, and Maine recently decriminalized the sale of sex but not its purchase, no state has fully decriminalized the industry as Illinois lawmakers are advocating.
Supporters of the legislation, including advocacy groups such as 
