Illinois Votes to Ratify Equal Rights Amendment 36 Years Late
The Illinois Senate voted to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment after an astonishing 36 years, becoming the 37th state to ratify the 1972 amendment. "I think voting to ratify the ERA helps give voice to these women and say, 'We hear you, we are with you and we agree," said Sen. Heather Steans, who sponsored a resolution to pusht the amendment through the Senate. “It’s high time we provide equal rights to women across the country.” The amendment guarantees equal rights for all citizens regardless of sex, and needed 38 states to ratify the change to the Constitution. Illinois was one of 15 states to choose not to ratify the amendment before the 1982 deadline, which makes the approval largely symbolic. Still if three more states ratify it, Congress could extend the deadline and the amendment could go into effect. (US News & World Report) (Chicago Tribune)