All-Gender Restroom Bill Passes Illinois Legislature – NBC Chicago

Legislation that would allow companies to create multi-occupant bathrooms open to all genders has been passed by both the Illinois House and Senate.

As the General Assembly attempted to wrap up its Spring 2023 session last week, tempers flared in the Senate over a series of Democratic-led moves, including an amendment to a bill that would allow businesses to create bathrooms for all genders, if they choose.

House Bill 1286 would change current state law, which says while single-occupancy bathrooms are automatically designated for all genders, multiple-occupancy bathrooms must be designated as male or female, report says from the Daily Herald.

On Thursday, a Republican state senator spoke out against the bill, saying it could spark violence.

“I’m telling you right now. If a guy walks in there, I’m going to beat him to death,” said State Sen. Neil Anderson, of the 47th District. “Yeah. So it’s going to cause violence, and it’s going to cause violence from dads like me.”

Democratic State Sen. Mike Simmons of the 7th District said “hundreds” of his constituents have written and phoned his office in support of the legislation “to bring Illinois into the 21st century.”

Simmons added that the bill would be a step forward in embracing “people who come from all genders, those who might be non-binary, and those who might be gender nonconforming, those who might be LGBTQ+, like me. and proudly.”

Gender-neutral toilets should include specific signage, partitions, and urinal partitions, as outlined in the bill.

The amended version has passed both the House and the Senate and is awaiting approval from Governor JB Pritzker.