Prairie State Wire

Dan Proft, co-host of AM 560 The Answer, said that efforts to halt the Homeschool Act were spearheaded by homeschooling families, who he believes wield more political influence than their numbers might suggest. He shared this view in a post on X.

"This legislation has been sidelined for now thanks mainly to homeschooling families who seem to be the only liberty-oriented cohort in the Illinois electorate who punches above their political weight," said Proft. "What now? Do those 50k Illinoisans who filed witness slips in opposition stay in the game? Does the ILGOP use this as an opportunity to sustain engagement?"

House Bill 2827 proposes that the Illinois State Board of Education develop a homeschool declaration form for administrators to submit to the relevant school district. The bill outlines penalties for students whose homeschool administrators fail to notify the district of their status. It also requires homeschooled students to provide proof of immunization and health exams or submit a signed exemption certificate. Filed by Representative Terra Costa Howard on February 5, the bill had its second reading on March 26 but was re-referred to the House Rules Committee on April 11.

Screenshot of Dan Proft's April 16 post on X | X

According to Capitol News Illinois, as of April 11, House Bill 2827 missed a legislative deadline to advance out of committee. However, sponsor Representative Terra Costa Howard indicated that the bill remains active. "We recognize that there’s some more changes that need to be made and so we want to be respectful of the process," she said. "I want to pass a bill that we can be proud of. And even though I’m proud of the bill now, I want to be able to take into consideration some of the other suggestions that have been made." The news outlet reported that the bill was introduced following an investigation revealing some children listed as being homeschooled were not receiving an education and were sometimes withdrawn from public schools under false pretenses and later abused at home.

In March, hundreds of homeschooling parents traveled to Springfield in protest against the bill. The proposal has also attracted attention from the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). Will Estrada, president of HSLDA, spoke with Fox News regarding the measure: "If this bill is passed into law, it’s going to be expanded in future years to put even more restrictions on homeschool and private school families," he said after testifying at a March 19 hearing on the bill. "The record of homeschoolers shows that we do well academically, socially, emotionally and so why are we messing with them? That’s the question. This bill is a solution in search of a problem."

Dan Proft is known as co-host of Chicago’s Morning Answer on AM 560 in Chicago and is a former Republican candidate for Illinois governor. He attended Northwestern University and earned his law degree from Loyola University Chicago.