The Illinois House of Representatives sent several bills to the Illinois Senate Wednesday, including a measure restricting where federal immigration detention facilities can be placed. 

House Bill 5024 — sponsored by Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Chicago) — would prohibit federal detention facilities from being within 1,500 feet of a school, day care — including day cares located in homes — cemetery, public park, forest preserve, public housing, private residence or place of religious worship.   

The measure was inspired by the detention facility in Broadview that saw weeks of protests last fall.   

Read more: Bill prohibiting immigration detention facilities near residences, schools approved by House committee 

“This bill is not about politics,” Welch said. “It's about people. It's about the little kid at day care who should not grow up around chaos. It's about the family in their home who should not feel like they are living next to a crisis zone. It is about the church member walking into worship who should be met with peace, not tension.”  

The measure defines “detention center facility” as a facility that is owned, leased or controlled by a federal immigration authority and is primarily used to detain individuals in the authorities’ custody; a facility where individuals are processed for deportation; or a facility where individuals are held while their citizenship status is determined.   

Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Harrisburg) asked about a California state law banning the use of private contractors to run immigration detention facilities, which was overturned by a federal court for violating the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution.  

Welch said HB 5024 differs because it is not an outright ban like the California law but instead a restriction.  

Windhorst still protested the measure, saying Illinois is “continually picking fights with the federal government.”  

The state has been sued multiple times by the Trump administration over its laws, including the state’s sanctuary laws and a bill passed during the fall veto session allowing private legal action against federal officers.   

The measure passed 72-35, with two voting present.  

Representatives approved House Bill 4339, a measure named after the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. that would require all Illinois school districts to offer high school graduates the opportunity to register to vote. 

Read more: House Ethics and Elections Committee unanimously passes voter registration law named after Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. 

The measure does not mandate how schools provide the opportunity to register, said bill sponsor Rep. Kimberly du Buclet (D-Chicago). She said school districts could partner with their county clerk or voter registration non-profits, for example.  

“HB 4339 is about removing barriers and building habits, and when we make civic participation accessible early, we help create lifelong voters, and this is good for our communities,” du Buclet said. “It's good for our state, and it's good for our democracy.”  

The measure does not include any penalties if a school district fails to comply.  

The measure was approved 77-24.  

The House also unanimously approved House Bill 4242. The measure establishes specific parameters for what information the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) gives in a determination notice following an investigation.   

This would include a statement of the allegation that was reported to the department, the finding of the investigation and information on requesting an appeal.   

Rep. Regan Deering (R-Decatur) said DCFS had agreed to the current version of the measure.  

The House also approved House Bill 4539, an initiative of DCFS. The measure establishes a minimum age of 14 to be considered an alleged perpetrator of child abuse or neglect. Bill sponsor Rep. Barbara Hernandez (D-Aurora) said this aligns Illinois with other states.   

The measure passed 102-2, with one voting present.  

The House also unanimously approved House Bill 4247, which would allow k-12 athletic trainers and coaches to carry certain medications such as asthma inhalers.  

Representatives also approved House Bill 4137 — which would allow a school district to pay for an “extended motel stay” for a student who is homeless — was approved 95-5.   

The House also approved a measure preventing school districts from being penalized when teachers take on extra work — such as summer school.   

Rep. Dave Vella (D-Loves Park) said a state law requiring school districts to pay the difference in pension costs for salary increases over six percent — which aimed to target the practice of pension spiking for retiring educators — has unintentionally impacted teachers picking up extra work.  

He said with school districts across the state struggling to find teachers, they’re relying on teachers to pick up the extra hours. But the extra pay associated can place the teachers over that six percent threshold.  

House Bill 2564 would exempt salary increases that are the result of “overload work,” such as summer school or after-school programs.  

The measure was approved 79-29.  

The House also unanimously approved House Bill 4323, which would designate July 25 of each year as Emmett Till Day. Till, whose murder was a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement, was born in Chicago.  

A similar measure was approved by the House last year but was amended by the Senate to become part of the budget package.  

Representatives also approved House Bill 4566, which creates the Natural Resource Restoration Trust Grant Program through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.  

The program will be available to communities for the restoration or replacement of natural resources. The measure passed 72-35. 

The House passed 51 bills in total. The full list can be found here.