by Kevin Bessler, The Center Square
| May 26, 2021 07:00 PM
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The Illinois Senate passed two bills Tuesday aimed at making menstrual hygiene products available for free in more places.
The measures advise colleges and universities, as well as homeless shelters, to provide such products free of charge.
Both bill sponsors cited “period poverty,” or not being able to afford hygiene products such as pads and tampons as motivation for their legislation.
House Bill 641, sponsored by state Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, requires colleges and universities to make hygiene products available free of charge in bathrooms.
State Sen. Jil Tracy, R-Quincy, questioned the cost of the proposal, but Villa could not provide any details. Tracy noted that Southern Illinois University offered the products in its restrooms and later discontinued the program because of “rampant theft.”