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Women’s health was the subject of a pair of bills passing the Illinois Senate.
College and university restrooms would be required to stock feminine hygiene supplies, under a bill sponsored by State Sen. Karina Villa (D-West Chicago). When State Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) said Southern Illinois University ended a similar program because of rampant theft, Villa said, “As a person who menstruates when I go to the bathroom, if I needed a product, I would use it, but I don’t think that would be considered stealing.”
A bill sponsored by State Sen. Christopher Belt (D-Cahokia) would require the same for homeless shelters. He said women without access to such projects can resort to newspapers or cardboard, if not simply reusing old products.
by Kevin Bessler, The Center Square | May 26, 2021 07:00 PM Print this article
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.”
Normal, IL, USA / www.cities929.com
May 27, 2021 | 2:10 PM
(The Center Square) – Opposition is growing against a bill that could disrupt in-person instruction at public and private schools during any type of future emergency.
House Bill 2789 could potentially encourage complaints against schools for arbitrary infractions of health rules, provides possible penalties against schools, and allow the state to become involved in the operations of private schools, opponents said.
The bill’s sponsor, Christopher Belt, D-Swansea, said the legislation was designed to get all Illinois school districts on the same page during an emergency.
“It’s about safety,” Belt said. “It is about keeping parents safe, it is about keeping faculty safe, it is about keeping kids safe.”
The Illinois Senate passed two bills Tuesday that would advise state universities and colleges, as well as homeless shelters, to provide menstrual hygiene