SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Rep. Katie Stuart of Edwardsville proposes to change a law that originally gave women equal access to toilets into a law for “all gender multiple occupancy restrooms.”
Stuart’s House Bill 1286 would amend the Equitable Restrooms Act “to promote the privacy, safety and gender inclusivity of all Illinois residents and visitors.”
Critics who believe it would diminish privacy and safety planned to protest at a coffee event for Stuart’s constituents in Collinsville on Feb. 25, so Stuart cancelled the event.
She issued a press release calling opponents of her bill “out of touch extremists.”
She wrote that hateful misinformation could result in real violence.
“I will not put my staff and my constituents in harm’s way,” she wrote.
Legislators passed the Equitable Restrooms Act in 1991, finding women faced delays at restrooms when men were rarely required to wait.
The law applied to arenas, stadiums, convention halls, special event centers, amusement facilities, and event centers in parks.
It specified at least one women’s toilet stall for every 200 persons at maximum capacity and at least one men’s toilet for every 700 persons.
Legislators amended the Act in 2019, to provide for “all gender single occupancy restrooms” in new construction or major renovation of public accommodations.
It required a sign on such restrooms that wouldn’t indicate any specific gender.
Stuart’s bill would take the next step by providing for conversion of any multiple occupancy restroom into an all gender restroom.
It would define multiple occupancy as at least one sink and at least two toilets or urinals intended for simultaneous use.
It states any such restroom might be “designated for use by any person of any gender.”
A designated restroom would prominently display a sign that doesn’t indicate a specific gender.
The sign would indicate any component that is present in the restroom.
The bill would require stall dividers with sturdy locks and privacy strips to ensure that no one can see through the space between the divider and the door.
It states, “If a multiple occupancy restroom is to be converted into an all gender multiple occupancy restroom and a multiple occupancy restroom serving a different gender is located adjacent or in proximity to the all gender multiple occupancy restroom, then both multiple occupancy restrooms must be converted into all gender multiple occupancy restrooms.”
For new construction or major alteration, the bill would require satisfaction of accessibility requirements, a trash receptacle in each stall, and vending of menstruation supplies.
Stuart’s press release on cancellation of her coffee event stated, “The fact is, some developers are choosing to offer bathrooms without a designated gender.”
“It’s also a fact that if they choose to do that, they’ll need to consider privacy, safety, and functionality of these facilities,” she stated.
Stuart’s opponent in last year’s election, Jennifer Korte, responded to the press release by stating more than 2,000 Illinois citizens signed witness slips against the bill.
“This legislation has some huge safety issues,” Korte wrote.
In an interview, Korte said Stuart described the bill as "permissive.”
“Permissive of what? Possibly a man victimizing a woman,” Korte said.
“I recently found myself washing my hands next to a man washing his hands.
“We were both uncomfortable.
“It will be so much more uncomfortable for a woman who’s been victimized,” Korte added.
She said she believes there are two genders.
“We’ve never used the word as it’s being used now,” she said.
The House gave the bill a first reading on Jan. 31.
On Feb. 22, the human services committee sent it to the floor for a second reading.