Originally published on ABC 7 on July 9, 2021.

SKOKIE, Ill. (WLS) -- Asian American history is now a required curriculum in public schools in Illinois.

This historic legislation makes Illinois the first state in the nation to require the teaching of Asian American History.

It's called the "TEAACH ACT" or Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History.

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Originally published on CNN on July 9, 2021.

(CNN)In the midst of a right-wing attack on creating a more inclusive education in the US, Illinois just became the first state to require Asian American history to be taught in public schools.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Teaching Equitable Asian American History Act on Friday, set to go into effect January 1.

"Today, we are reaffirming our commitment to creating more inclusive school environments. We're making Illinois the first state in the nation to require that Asian American history will be taught in public schools, including a unit about the Asian American experience," said Pritzker in a statement. "We are setting a new standard for what it means to truly reckon with our history. It's a new standard that helps us understand one another, and, ultimately, to move ourselves closer to the nation of our ideals."

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Originally published in Injustice Watch on May 25, 2021.

Illinois is poised to become the first state to require that public schools teach their students the history of Asian Americans, who have endured an increase in anti-Asian hate crimes amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Illinois Senate passed the Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History Act, known as the TEAACH Act, by a unanimous vote of 57-0 on Tuesday. The legislation, introduced in January by Illinois State Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, passed the state House in April. The House has to approve a Senate amendment before it will head to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk for his signature.

The bill would require every elementary and high school in the state to devote a unit of curriculum to the history of Asian Americans in the United States, including in Illinois and the Midwest. School districts would have until the start of the 2022-2023 school year to comply.

The TEAACH Act requires schools to include in U.S. history courses the role that Asian Americans have played in advancing civil rights and highlight their contributions to the country’s development.

State Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said education is one part of a “multipronged” strategy to tackle the rise in discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Addressing the issue will also require better hate crime reporting, more representation in government, and training people to be better bystanders who intervene when they witness anti-Asian harassment, he said.

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Originally published on WREX on May 19, 2021.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Gov. JB Pritzker says the state’s ready to move forward into the next phase of the Rebuild Illinois capital spending plan. Pritzker announced a new six-year $20.7 billion construction plan to improve highways on Wednesday.

The Illinois Department of Transportation said they kept construction projects on schedule throughout the pandemic without cutting any projects. Acting Director Omer Osman says IDOT stands prepared to work on even more projects over the next six years.

This plan will help reconstruct over 2,700 more miles of roads and nearly 8 million square feet of bridges between 2022 and 2027. The Pritzker administration says $3.3 billion of the program has been earmarked for the next fiscal year. Officials say the state is investing $5.79 billion in highway reconstruction and preservation and $4.82 billion for bridge improvements. That’s completely separate from $2.59 billion for strategic expansion, $1.43 billion to support engineering and land acquisition, and $1.21 billion for safety and system modernization.

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