It’s about 174 miles from Taylorville up to Tampico. Peoria is halfway between, making it an ideal spot for a hypothetical meeting between Chasity Dorathy and Ashley Peden.
Dorathy, the subject of Saturday’s column, is stumping for House Bill 2942, which would increase from two months to six the suspension period for holders of graduated driver licenses convicted of driving with more than one nonsibling passenger younger than 20.
Peden, the Feb. 4 focus, backs Senate Bill 98, adding to the Illinois School Code a mandatory one-year expulsion for any public school student found to have committed sexual assault, sexual harassment or engaged in a sexual activity without the consent of the other person.
Dorathy took up her cause as part of the grieving process after losing her 16-year-old son in a March 2024 car crash. Peden’s advocacy stems from assault, abuse and rape her 10-year-old daughter suffered in January and February 2024. The assailant was a 14-year-old who rode the same school bus.
Obviously, these mothers could connect over tragic circumstances. Without diminishing those emotions, they have caught my attention for their citizen advocacy. Although I’ve not interviewed Peden, neither she nor Dorathy comes across as inherently political people, yet their experiences led to Statehouse speeches and media exposure.
I didn’t mention Peden when speaking to Dorathy last week, but I had her story in mind when asking: What happens if your bill stalls? As Capitol News Illinois reported Thursday, SB 98 didn’t get a committee assignment before the March 21 deadline. HB 2942 advanced from committee, but that guarantees nothing.
State Sen. Steven McClure, the Springfield Republican sponsoring SB 98, requested an extension and called the proposal “still very much in play.” But despite several supportive comments from both sides of the aisle and the Illinois Education Association backing, the holding pattern remains unbroken.
The IEA and other organizations have amendments on deck, including allowing a superintendent or school board additional discretion and language clarifying the fact that most students are too young to provide legal consent. But everything remains theoretical with the legislation idling in Assignments.
Dorathy told me she’s considered changes to her proposal if they’re needed for passage – “this is always on my mind, it’s never not” – along with other means to address her concerns about graduated license holders taking too many passengers.
“I didn’t feel like I could do anything else” besides get lawmakers involved, Dorathy said. “This isn’t for me or even my son,” but trying to perhaps make a difference for one child or family.
As much as Peden and Dorathy have earned praise, their stories also remind us that even positive change is difficult. Courage and advocacy are starting points. Persistence is essential.
• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.
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