Illinois first state to mandate availability of halal, kosher meals in schools, hospitals, prisons

CHICAGO (WGN) — Illinois has become the first state in the nation to ensure that public schools, hospitals and other state-run institutions like prisons offer halal and kosher meals to those who request them.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed the “Faith by Plate Act” into law last Friday, making Illinois a testing ground for the new requirement. The law took effect immediately.

Chicago Public Schools currently have 14 schools that offer kosher meals and nine that offer halal. Many of schools were part of a pilot program over the last three years that lead to the law.

The money to implement the legislation statewide still needs to be appropriated. Lawmakers who passed the bill will be going back to Springfield to find the money to make it a reality, estimating the cost may be between $10 and $20 million.

“Through this contract … It will make it more cost efficient or cost feasible for school districts, … the goal is to make sure that we get to every student to ensure that they have the ability to meet their dietary needs,” State Senator Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago), the bill’s primary senate sponsor, said Monday at an event at West Ridge Elementary School celebrating the new law.

Advocates for the legislation were quick to remind that just because these meals are halal and kosher, it does not mean that they cannot be offered to all students once that money is approved.