Chicago City Wire

Seventh District State Sen. Mike Simmons, the author of a 2021 law that banned discrimination against ethnic hairstyles in Illinois schools, is going after a new target: book banning. 

His anti-book-banning bill, SB 689, passed the State Senate 35-17 on April 27 and was engrossed on May 15. 

"SB 689 is legislation I've proposed that would prohibit book banning in the state and in libraries," Simmons said. "It’s a pretty important issue to the Democratic Party and communities that have been targeted."  Book banning targets racial and LGBTQ books, creating a harmful and non-inclusive environment in schools, he told Chicago City Wire. 

His "Jett Hawkins Law" banning hairstyle discrimination was signed by Illinois Gov J.B. Pritzker on Aug. 13, 2021 at a Chicago high school. He was inspired to introduce that bill when he learned about Ida Nelson and her four-year-old son Jett, who was sent home from school because his braids were said to be a violation of the school's handbook, according to a press release from the Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus. 

Nelson told ABC 7 News in a February 2022 interview that she had struggled with the decision to take down Jett's braids, which saddened the child, but that she told the school about the CROWN Act, a model law passed in 14 states prohibiting discrimination based on hairstyle and hair texture. 

With the support of the Dove brand and the CROWN coalition, Simmons, who wears his hair in freeform locs, introduced the Jett Hawkins bill, which went into effect as law on January 1, 2022. Schools that violate the act risk not being recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education.

"Thank you @JBPritzker for signing the Jett Hawkins act today," Simmons wrote in a Twitter post the day the bill was signed. "We have turned the page in Illinois so that Black youth can come to school and wear their hair in a way that honors their heritage without being traumatized by outdated and racist policies."

Simmons told Chicago City Wire that he wears his hair in free form locks because that's how he wants to wear it and it is a form of self-expression that says something about who he is.  "To be perfectly honest, I don’t think about people’s reactions to my hair," Simmons added. "I don't have time or the luxury for that. Every now and then, someone will compliment me for it, especially young black youth."

When asked how he planned to balance diversity and appropriateness for books in school libraries, Simmons said that he trusted librarians and that teachers should be able to structure course syllabuses and assemble appropriate material for classrooms and libraries. 

"My legislation says that you cannot ban books in school or libraries. That will protect communities being targeted and we need to do that," Simmons said. "I grew up with access to these books and want the next generation to have the same right. Educators and librarians will still have the ability to decide where different collections need to be kept and displayed."