South Central Reporter

State Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Effingham) isn’t tired of repeating that “we all know where this thing is heading.”

“You know it it's been going this direction, the politicization of education,” he said. Disappointed by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules’ decision to approve the Illinois State Board of Education’s "Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards.”

JCAR has 12 legislators with the membership apportioned equally between the two Houses and the two political caucuses.

Wilhour said he was not surprised about the approval “when you look at the makeup of these committees.”

“The public education system is literally failing the students, especially the students that can afford it the least — poor rural communities and our minority communities,” he added. “I don't think that we can ever right this the system in the state of Illinois without legitimate competition in the public education system.”

During Wilhour’s Facebook live discussion with state Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville), a viewer asked if the legislators could submit an amendment to the rule. 

“That's the thing,” Wilhour responded. “This didn't go to the legislature. The legislature has abandoned the responsibilities on a lot of these, almost everything that we’ve seen in the last year basically.”

Stressing that the legislators did not have a voice in this rule he said “We've passed legislation that is so broad and un-precise that these state agencies are now…we are under the rule of bureaucracies,” he added. 

“If the legislature as a whole would pass a bill like it should, we could do that. We could have a voice in this regard but I don’t see the political will to do that right now.”