“I am appalled and embarrassed that the state of Illinois has not done this earlier,” said Democratic Rep. Stephanie Kifowit of Oswego, a Marine veteran. “I am proud to be on this side of history and I am proud to support not only all the women that this will help, that this will send a message to, but I am also here to be a role model for my daughter.”</s>Illinois became the 37th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.The House voted 72-45 Wednesday. The vote came nearly 38 years to the day that supporters thought the amendment was dead because the Illinois Legislature failed to endorse it.The constitutional amendment guarantees equal rights for all citizens regardless of sex. Thirty-eight states must ratify it to make it effective.Illinois was one of 15 states not to ratify before a congressionally set 1982 deadline. But supporters have argued there's precedent to show that deadlines on constitutional amendments don't apply.Rep. Lou Lang sponsored the measure in the House. The Skokie Democrat said the vote is a historic moment for women across the country.Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) sponsored measure in the Senate."This is a historic day for women across the country," she said. "I am thrilled that members of the House joined the Senate in standing up for women's rights."Opposition during the two-hour debate ranged from concerns over more-accessible abortion to arguments that it would roll back protections for minorities.Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel released a statement, saying:"Tonight, Illinois sent a clear message to the country that we stand united for equality and justice for all. Enshrining equal rights for women in our nation's Constitution is an important and long overdue step on the journey to a more perfect union. I commend Leader Lang and Senator Steans for their leadership, and am proud to stand with all those who voted to create true equal rights under the law for every American."Democratic candidate for governor JB Pritzker also released a statement, saying in part, "I applaud the state legislators who took a historic stand today in support of equality for all and ratified the Equal Rights Amendment in Illinois...Today, after over 40 years of waiting, Illinois was put on the right side of history."The push to ratify took center stage once more after Nevada voted to ratify the amendment last year.</s>Thirty-six years after the congressional deadline, Illinois voted to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, which guarantees civil rights for all citizens regardless of sex.

This makes Illinois the 37th state to ratify the constitutional amendment, which Congress passed way back on March 22, 1972. Following its approval, the ERA went to the states, where it fell short of ratification after only 35 out of the required 38 states passed it by the June 1982 deadline.

But in the past few years, everyone from actress Meryl Streep to attorney Gloria Allred has revived the call to pass the ERA, despite the passed deadline. In March 2017, decades after Indiana was the last to ratify the ERA before 1982, Nevada approved the constitutional amendment. On May 29, the Illinois House voted 72-45, after the Senate had already passed it.

While it’s unclear what will happen from here, as the ratification deadline has long passed, only one more state needs to approve the ERA to meet the three-fourths majority of state legislatures. If anything, the approval was symbolic, especially in the state where now-deceased conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly launched her anti-ERA campaign in the 1970s.

Following the House vote, Democratic state representative Stephanie Kifowit expressed her embarrassment over how long it took for her state to pass the amendment.

“I am appalled and embarrassed that the state of Illinois has not done this earlier,” she told the Chicago Tribune. “I am proud to be on this side of history and I am proud to support not only all the women that this will help, that this will send a message to, but I am also here to be a role model for my daughter.”

Democratic state representative Juliana Stratton, who discussed the discrimination she has faced as a black woman during the debate, tweeted after the vote, “I’m so proud to take this historic vote to pass the ERA in Illinois!”</s>Illinois is now the 37th State to adopt the Equal Rights Amendment

The Illinois House passed the Constitutional Amendment by a vote of 72 to 45 on Wednesday, May 30th.

This Amendment guarantees equal rights for all Americans no matter what their gender is.

Illinois was one of the 15 states not to ratify before a congressionally set 1982 deadline.

38 states must ratify it to make it effective, with some saying there could a court fight ahead once state 38 signs on.

The vote came nearly 38 years to the day. Most supporters thought the amendment was dead because Illinois Legislature failed to endorse it.</s>The Illinois House voted on Wednesday to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution 40-plus years after it was approved by Congress. The ERA, which gained momentum during the 1960s and aims to combat discrimination based on sex, explicitly enshrining civil rights regardless of gender, was approved by the House of Representatives in 1971 and then by the U.S. Senate in 1972. The proposed amendment was then sent to the state legislatures with bipartisan support for ratification, garnering 35 of the necessary 38 state ratifications and appeared to be headed for enshrinement in the Constitution before it was met by a groundswell of opposition by conservative women’s groups.

By the time the ERA effort fizzled, Illinois was one of the 15 states that failed to ratify the amendment before the congressionally-imposed 1982 deadline. Three-quarters of the state legislatures would be necessary to enshrine the amendment into law. The ERA has found renewed interest and political life in the era of #MeToo and in 2017, Nevada became the 36th state to ratify before Illinois became the 37th state to vote in favor of the ERA. Even with this renewed political push, the legislative future of the ERA remains dubious. “As has been the case for decades, the legislative debate over the Equal Rights Amendment was fraught with controversy,” the Chicago Tribune reports. “Opponents also contended the measure may be moot, since its original 1982 ratification deadline has long since expired. Supporters argued, however, that the 1992 ratification of the 1789 ‘Madison Amendment,’ preventing midterm changes in congressional pay, makes the ERA a legally viable change to the constitution.”

When Illinois state house voted 72-45 to ratify the amendment, just one vote more than required to approve the amendment, it left 13 remains states that have not ratified the ERA: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia.</s>(SPRINGFIELD, Ill.) — Illinois on Wednesday became the 37th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, putting the country only one state away from a landmark change to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing equal rights for women.

The historic passage was nearly half a century in the making, and came 38 years after supporters staged hunger strikes and floor sit-ins in a futile attempt to persuade the Illinois Legislature to OK the proposal by what was a congressionally set deadline.

The Illinois House approved the amendment 72-45 Wednesday. The Senate approved it 43-12 in April.

Rep. Lou Lang, the Skokie Democrat who sponsored the proposal, called the vote a historic moment for lawmakers to make a difference for women across the nation.

“Is the Illinois House for or against adding 161 million American citizens to the U.S. Constitution where they absolutely belong?” he asked prior to the vote. “A ‘no’ vote is a vote against the right of women in the United States of America.”

The ERA, first proposed in 1972, guarantees equal rights for all citizens regardless of sex. Ratification requires the assent of 38 states, but there’s some legal debate over whether it’s too late for additional states to join those that acted years earlier.

Illinois was one of 15 states not to ratify before the 1982 deadline. The push to ratify took center stage once more after Nevada voted to ratify the amendment last year.

Opponents have argued that passing the amendment would give women unrestricted access to abortion, among other things.

While those arguments still persisted this year, many Republicans remained quiet, instead yielding their time to their black colleagues on the other side of the aisle who expressed concerns that the fight for women’s rights has largely been championed by white women, many of whom did not consider black women their equal.

“When the women finally got their right to vote, black women did not get our rights,” said Rep. Mary Flowers, a Chicago Democrat. “You want to say something (the ERA language) written in 1923 is going to protect me?”

Other Democrats, many of whom are also black, stressed that ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment is more important than ever in the era of President Donald Trump. Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, a Hillside Democrat, said he is concerned the president could roll back protections against women unless those rights are guaranteed in the Constitution.

“I would rather rely on our U.S. Constitution than Donald Trump,” Welch said.</s>ILLINOIS (WAND) – Illinois has joined 36 other states in approving the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The proposed amendment guarantees equal rights for all Americans, no matter what their sex is. The House joined the Senate in approving the measure with 72 yes votes and 45 no votes. The Senate approved it with a 43 to 12 vote in April.

The amendment has been debated at the Illinois Capitol for decades after national lawmakers proposed it in 1972. NBC Chicago reports the House and Senate could never support it in the same year before now, with the House backing it in 1975 and 2003, and the Senate voting for approved in 1972 and 2014.

Some people against the amendment say it can work to mean unrestricted access to abortion.

A total of 15 states failed to ratify the ERA before its original 1982 deadline, but a push to ratify began building after Nevada voted in favor in 2017. People in favor of the amendment believe the deadline might not matter.

Only one more state has to approve the ERA before it becomes an official part of the Constitution.</s>(Reuters) - Illinois joined 36 U.S. states on Wednesday when it ratified an U.S. constitution Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) intended to ensure women are treated the same as men under state and federal laws, more than three decades after a deadline to approve it.

The state’s House of Representatives passed a resolution 72-45 to ratify the ERA amendment after the state Senate passed the measure in April.

Illinois’ passage of the amendment comes at a time when support for women’s rights is gaining momentum. In addition to the #Metoo movement, issues like equal pay in the workplace for women are at the forefront of the political and social landscape in the United States.

The U.S. constitution does not currently guarantee equal rights for women, but many federal and state laws prohibit discrimination based on gender.

“By ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment we can provide a strong legal protection for women’s rights and prevent rollbacks from Congress or presidential administrations,” said State Senator Heather Steans in a statement. “This amendment is still relevant and necessary.”

Illinois State Rep. Peter Breen of Lombard, who voted against the measure, told the Chicago Tribune the amendment was intended to expand taxpayer funding for abortions and to roll back abortion regulations.

The U.S. Congress approved the amendment in 1972, sending it to states for ratification. At least 38 states needed to ratify it by 1979 for it to be enacted. Congress, however, pushed the deadline to 1982 when only 35 states approved the amendment.

Nevada became the 36th state to ratify the amendment in 2017, but Virginia failed to pass it earlier this year.

Supporters argue that Congress could enact the amendment once the 38th state passes it since it has the power to “maintain the legal viability” of the amendment’s existing state ratifications, according to EqualRightsAmendment.org.

To complicate matters, five states rescinded previous ratifications. It is unclear how those retractions will play a role in the total state count.

The last change to the U.S. Constitution was made in 1992 when the 27th amendment regarding congressional compensation was ratified.</s>The Illinois House voted on May 30, 2018, to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment more than 45 years after it was approved by Congress. The fight for the ERA has spanned decades with opponents contending the measure was aimed at ensuring an expansion of abortion rights and supporters saying it was needed to give women equal standing in the nation’s founding document.</s>Illinois has become the 37th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.

The measure, which has been bandied about in Illinois since it failed before what was then thought to be a 1982 deadline, has taken on special emphasis as an election-year issue.

Illinois was one of the 15 states not to ratify before the original 1982 deadline. But proponents argue there’s precedent that makes such a deadline moot. The amendment would guarantee legal rights regardless of sex, ending legal distinctions between men and women.

Those opposed argued that passing the amendment would give women unrestricted access to abortion.
The Illinois House of Representatives votes 72–45 to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.