SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — The Illinois Senate approved a plan Wednesday to provide faith based food options in schools and state run facilities.
Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) introduced the idea for the state to allow kosher and halal food options three years ago. The legislation gained significant support and passed out of both chambers during the 2023 spring session. However, Gov. JB Pritzker vetoed that version of the bill due to technical issues.
After negotiating with the Illinois State Board of Education and other stakeholders, Villivalam feels his proposal can make it across the finish line and become law.
"I am proud of our collaborative work to make the technical changes requested by the governor to ensure the successful implementation of this legislation," Villivalam said. "We are recognizing the cultural needs of our community and this is a big step for families who eat kosher or halal. Everyone deserves to have an option that fits their needs and feel included."
Senate Bill 457 could require all Illinois public schools, state correctional facilities and the University of Illinois hospital in Chicago to offer the faith based food options if requested. If signed by the governor, ISBE would be tasked with entering into statewide master contracts from vendors across the state.
"It must meet the federal standards set under the federal Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act," Villivalam said. "We also provided flexibility for the State Board of Education, allowing them to enter into as many contracts as needed in order to provide excess for school districts statewide."
Sen. Ram Villivalam presents Senate Bill 457 on October 25, 2023.
The legislation passed out of the Senate Education Committee Wednesday morning on a 10-1 vote. Leaders from the Jewish United Fund and the Muslim Civic Coalition were key stakeholders for the proposal.
"This was a collaboration of the Muslim and Jewish communities to create an inclusive space for students of faith in schools," said Maaria Mozaffer, legislative consultant for the Muslim Civic Coalition. "We are proud of the work we did together and thank the Governor for making the needs of faith based students in our state a priority. All students from all backgrounds and faiths should know they belong."
The bill language states that any halal or kosher food products offered by state-owned facilities should be purchased from a halal or kosher certified vendor. Any person, organization or vendor falsely representing the food it provides as halal or kosher products could be subject to criminal penalties.
Yet, Senate Republicans are concerned that the charges would not be the same for a vendor providing false halal or kosher food. Republican staff noted that people could be charged with a Class B misdemeanor penalty while violations for the other food could lead to a Class C misdemeanor.
"You have two foundational constitution problems," said Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet). "You have an equal protection problem and you have a religious freedom problem because you're now saying that somehow the Jews are different than the Muslims in how you're sentencing them. This doesn't make any sense."
Villivalam noted that the discrepancy in charges exists in prior state law. The sponsor explained he is willing to work with Republicans to address that issue in a future trailer bill.
Senate Bill 457 passed out of the Senate on a 43-15 vote. The plan now heads to the House for further consideration.
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