Sangamon Sun

Yesterday, the Illinois House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill introduced by State Representative Jeff Keicher (R-Sycamore) aimed at enhancing school safety. Senate Bill 71 was developed in response to a hazardous material spill that exposed shortcomings in schools' emergency and disaster planning.

"This legislation arose following a chemical spill near a school in Ohio," said Keicher. "The school administration wasn't sure what to do, and there was some conflicting information about whether they should evacuate students, lock the school down, shut off the HVAC systems, or what."

Although the chemical incident took place in Ohio, it led Illinois officials to examine their own emergency protocols for schools. They discovered that no such guidance existed. SB 71 mandates that the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and the Office of Homeland Security create guidelines for Illinois schools to integrate into their emergency plans for handling hazardous waste spills or explosions near educational institutions.

"Thankfully, hazardous chemical spills like this are rare, but they can have devastating outcomes if our schools are not prepared, and this legislation ensures our schools, and most importantly, our children, will be better prepared if something like this does happen," concluded Keicher.

With unanimous approval from both the Illinois House and Senate, SB 71 is now set to be sent to the Governor for signing into law.