Prairie State Wire

Illinois State Rep. Blaine Wilhour said that school personnel involved in forcing a girl to change in front of a biological male in a Deerfield, Illinois, locker room should be immediately terminated. Wilhour made his comments in a March 14 social media post on X.

“This Deerfield, Illinois mother claims that teachers and administrators in their public school, forced her daughter and others to change in a locker room with a biological male against their will,” Wilhour said. “If this is true, any school personnel involved in this disgusting, reprehensible behavior needs to be immediately terminated and stripped of any pension or any other government benefits.”

Wilhour's remarks were in response to parent Nicole Georges confronting Deerfield school officials about the locker room incident. Georges claimed at a school district meeting that her daughter and other female students were forced to share a locker room with a biological male student who identifies as female. a situation she described as both invasive and inappropriate.

Screenshot of Wilhour's Mar. 14 post on X. | Illinois State Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Effingham)

The controversy erupted when the girls, uncomfortable with the male student’s presence, decided to skip changing for gym class, the Lake County Gazette reported. The next day, Assistant Principal Cathy Van Treese reportedly pulled the girls aside for questioning, and later that day, Van Treese, Assistant Superintendent Joanna Ford, and multiple teachers entered the locker room, and allegedly forced the girls to change into their uniforms while the male student was allowed to remain present.

In an interview with Fox News, Georges explained the emotional toll the situation had on her daughter and the other girls involved. 

“It’s hard to believe they were forced into this situation,” Georges said.

Georges has filed a civil rights complaint with the Department of Education, claiming that the district’s actions violate Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded education programs and activities. 

The school has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

Blaine Wilhour is a Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing District 110 since January 11, 2023, according to his Ballotpedia page.