August
21, 2018
To
the Honorable Members of
The
Illinois House of Representatives,
100th
General Assembly:
Today, I return House Bill 5195 with specific
recommendations for change.
This legislation creates an avenue for students who do not
have access to school-sponsored transportation to obtain said transportation,
if the student’s route to school poses a safety hazard due to “a course or
pattern of criminal activity.”
As written, House Bill 5195 explicitly excludes Chicago
Public Schools due to the fact that Chicago already has legislation governing
the safe travel of students to and from school. That law, which includes
Chicago’s Safe Passage Program, only applies to Chicago Public Schools and
utilizes a different process and set of criteria to guarantee the safe travel
of students than is proposed in House Bill 5195.
All students in Illinois, regardless of zip code, have the
right to safely travel to and from school, and our government has a
responsibility to protect that right. However, access to safe transit for
students across the state should be evaluated and granted comparably, without
any exceptions or carve-outs for particular cities or jurisdictions.
Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(e) of Article
IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 5195,
entitled “AN ACT concerning education,” with the following recommendation for
change:
By replacing page 2, line 25 through page 3,
line 1 with:
“Omnibus Prevention Act. Such transportation,
if provided due to vehicular traffic or rail crossings, shall not be
provided if adequate transportation for the public is
available. Such transportation, if provided due to a course or pattern
of criminal activity, may be provided notwithstanding if adequate
transportation for the public is available.”; and
On page 5, by deleting lines 6 through 9.
With these changes, House Bill 5195 will have my approval.
I respectfully request your concurrence.
Sincerely,
Bruce Rauner
GOVERNOR