Terra Costa Howard
The bill’s future is uncertain as it draws fierce opposition from homeschool families, a threat against its sponsor prompting a police investigation and shaky support from Democrats.
Supporters say a bill to regulate homeschooling is aimed at ensuring kids are getting the education they need and are better protected from potential neglect. Opponents are concerned that the bill would be government overreach and could criminalize homeschooling parents.
The measure, known as the Homeschool Act, would require families to notify their school districts when they decide to homeschool, and that parents or guardians who teach their kids at home have a high school diploma or equivalent.
Under the new bill, families would be required to tell their school districts when they decide to homeschool their children, and the parents or guardians would need to have a high school diploma or equivalent.
In a statement, Gov. J.B. Pritzker called the verdict an “important message to anyone in government” that “if you choose corruption you will be found out, and you will be punished.”
Amid the flurry of legislation was a measure prohibiting state universities from admitting students based on familial and donor ties, an expansion of the ban on sales of e-cigarettes to minors and a bill prohibiting stores from stocking alcoholic beverages near non-alcoholic lookalikes.
The sponsor of a state law intended to stop “deceptive” practices by anti-abortion advocates and centers said she is in “shock and dismay” over a pending legal arrangement agreed to by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul that will effectively nullify the law that he championed.
For nearly 40 years, former Illinois House Speaker and state Democratic Party chairman Michael Madigan was at the epicenter of politics in Chicago and Illinois. Now, he’s at the epicenter of a corruption investigation. The news has Springfield reeling.
Who will be the next speaker of the Illinois House? For the first time in decades, there’s no clear answer. Longtime Speaker Michael Madigan still wants the job — but at least 19 of his fellow Democrats say they won’t support him. We check in with some of the first to defect.