Prairie State Wire

Awake Illinois, a statewide advocacy group, has announced that Governor JB Pritzker, the Illinois State Board of Education, the Department of Human Services, and schools across Illinois support the presence of males in female bathrooms and locker rooms in schools. The group is urging its followers to speak out on this issue. This announcement was made on the social media platform X.

According to the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR), state law mandates that Illinois schools provide transgender and gender-nonconforming students with equal access to school programs and facilities, including restrooms and locker rooms, based on their gender identity. IDHR's official guidance states that schools may not segregate or treat a student differently because their gender identity does not match their sex assigned at birth. This establishes a statewide legal baseline for facility access. The document further clarifies that denying restroom or locker-room use aligned with a student's gender identity may constitute discrimination under the Illinois Human Rights Act.

The IDHR's March 2025 non-regulatory guidance specifies that policies prohibiting a student from using facilities corresponding to their gender identity constitute discriminatory treatment under state law. Such restrictions can expose schools to legal liability under the Illinois Human Rights Act.

As reported by ABC7 Chicago, Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 settled a lawsuit with former student Nova Maday for $150,000 after she argued that district restrictions on her use of the girls' locker room violated the Illinois Human Rights Act. The lawsuit claimed the district imposed unequal conditions compared to other students, creating a discriminatory environment.

According to Awake IL’s official website, the organization describes itself as focused on parental rights, education policy, and community engagement. Shannon Adcock is identified as its founder and president. Awake IL states that its mission centers on mobilizing residents around school and policy issues.