Illinois House approves Equal Rights Amendment News
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Illinois House approves Equal Rights Amendment

The Illinois House of Representatives [official website] voted [legislative history] 72-45 on Wednesday to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) [text], 36 years after the deadline.

The ERA would change the Bill of Rights to prohibit gender discrimination by the government.

The Illinois Senate ratified the amendment in April.

According to The Hill, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner [official website] does not have to sign the bill for the ratification to go into effect.

Illinois is the thirty-seventh state to ratify the ERA, meaning that only one other state needs to do so. Some opponents say that since the deadline has passed, the ratification is moot. However, supporters of the ERA say that case precedent shows [Alice Paul Institute] that Congress can extend or remove such a deadline.