Ram Villivalam, Illinois State Senator 8th District (D) | www.facebook.com
Ram Villivalam, Illinois State Senator 8th District (D) | www.facebook.com
In the House, 73 Democrats and 38 Republicans voted in favor of the bill.
Meanwhile, in the Senate, 33 Democrats and 18 Republicans voted in favor of the bill.
Villivalam introduced the bill in the Illinois Senate on Feb. 4, 2025 during the 104th session.
The legislation, known as SB1616, was passed on May 21, 2025 during the general assembly session 104.
According to the Illinois General Assembly site, the legislature summarized the bill's official text as follows: "Amends the School Code. Requires the State Board of Education to identify days during the year when there may be a portion of the student body absent or unable to participate in a major school event due to cultural, religious, or other observances and, by February 1 of each year, to prominently post on its website and distribute to school districts a nonexhaustive list of the corresponding days and dates of potential cultural, religious, or other observances in the upcoming school year. Allows a school district to include additional days and dates based on community feedback or demographics. Requires the State Board to distribute the list by February 1 each year to regional offices of education, the Department of Early Childhood, the Board of Higher Education, the Illinois High School Association, and other relevant associations or entities as determined by the State Board. Effective immediately."
The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.
In essence, this bill amends the School Code to introduce scheduling guidance for major school events, ensuring sensitivity to cultural or religious observances. It directs the State Board of Education, with stakeholder input, to identify significant cultural and religious dates that may affect student participation in school events. By July 1 each year, the board must post on its website and distribute to school districts a list of these dates for the upcoming school year. The list will serve as a resource for scheduling decisions, accompanied by a statement encouraging consideration of cultural and religious observances. Additionally, the list is nonexhaustive and will not affect students' rights to be excused for religious holidays, per existing legislation. School districts are informed that they can enhance this list based on community input. The bill takes effect upon becoming law.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid (Democrat-21st District), Rep. Anna Moeller (Democrat-43rd District), and Rep. Bob Morgan (Democrat-58th District), along with 14 other sponsors.
Bills in Illinois follow a multi-step legislative process, beginning with introduction in either the House or Senate, followed by committee review, floor debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching the governor for approval or veto. The General Assembly operates on a biennial schedule, and while typically thousands of bills are introduced each session, only a fraction successfully pass through the process to become law.
You can read more about bills and other measures here.
Villivalam graduated from George Washington University in 2009 with a BS.
Villivalam, a Democrat, was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 2019 to represent the state's 8th Senate District, replacing previous state senator Ira Silverstein.
Lawmakers listed as "Not Voting" were present for the vote but did not cast a vote. Those marked as having an "Excused Absence" were not present and formally provided a reason for their absence, which was accepted.
| Legislator | Party | District | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aarón M. Ortíz | Democrat | 1st District | Yea |
| Abdelnasser Rashid | Democrat | 21st District | Yea |
| Adam M. Niemerg | Republican | 102nd District | Yea |
| Amy Briel | Democrat | 76th District | Yea |
| Amy Elik | Republican | 111th District | Yea |
| Amy L. Grant | Republican | 47th District | Yea |
| Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar | Democrat | 22nd District | Yea |
| Ann M. Williams | Democrat | 11th District | Yea |
| Anna Moeller | Democrat | 43rd District | Yea |
| Anne Stava | Democrat | 81st District | Yea |
| Anthony DeLuca | Democrat | 80th District | Yea |
| Barbara Hernandez | Democrat | 50th District | Yea |
| Blaine Wilhour | Republican | 110th District | Yea |
| Bob Morgan | Democrat | 58th District | Yea |
| Brad Halbrook | Republican | 107th District | Yea |
| Brad Stephens | Republican | 20th District | Absent, excused |
| Bradley Fritts | Republican | 74th District | Yea |
| Brandun Schweizer | Republican | 104th District | Yea |
| Camille Y. Lilly | Democrat | 78th District | Yea |
| Carol Ammons | Democrat | 103rd District | Absent, excused |
| Charles Meier | Republican | 109th District | Yea |
| Chris Miller | Republican | 101st District | Yea |
| Christopher "C.D." Davidsmeyer | Republican | 100th District | Yea |
| Curtis J. Tarver, II | Democrat | 25th District | Yea |
| Dagmara Avelar | Democrat | 85th District | Yea |
| Dan Swanson | Republican | 71st District | Yea |
| Dan Ugaste | Republican | 65th District | Yea |
| Daniel Didech | Democrat | 59th District | Yea |
| Dave Severin | Republican | 116th District | Yea |
| Dave Vella | Democrat | 68th District | Yea |
| David Friess | Republican | 115th District | Absent, excused |
| Debbie Meyers-Martin | Democrat | 38th District | Yea |
| Dennis Tipsword | Republican | 105th District | Yea |
| Diane Blair-Sherlock | Democrat | 46th District | Yea |
| Edgar González, Jr. | Democrat | 23rd District | Yea |
| Elizabeth "Lisa" Hernandez | Democrat | 2nd District | Yea |
| Eva-Dina Delgado | Democrat | 3rd District | Yea |
| Fred Crespo | Democrat | 44th District | Yea |
| Gregg Johnson | Democrat | 72nd District | Yea |
| Harry Benton | Democrat | 97th District | Yea |
| Hoan Huynh | Democrat | 13th District | Yea |
| Jackie Haas | Republican | 79th District | Yea |
| Jaime M. Andrade, Jr. | Democrat | 40th District | Yea |
| Janet Yang Rohr | Democrat | 41st District | Yea |
| Jason R. Bunting | Republican | 106th District | Yea |
| Jawaharial Williams | Democrat | 10th District | Yea |
| Jay Hoffman | Democrat | 113th District | Yea |
| Jed Davis | Republican | 75th District | Yea |
| Jeff Keicher | Republican | 70th District | Yea |
| Jehan Gordon-Booth | Democrat | 92nd District | Yea |
| Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz | Democrat | 17th District | Yea |
| Jennifer Sanalitro | Republican | 48th District | Yea |
| Joe C. Sosnowski | Republican | 69th District | Yea |
| John M. Cabello | Republican | 90th District | Yea |
| Joyce Mason | Democrat | 61st District | Yea |
| Justin Slaughter | Democrat | 27th District | Yea |
| Kam Buckner | Democrat | 26th District | Yea |
| Katie Stuart | Democrat | 112th District | Yea |
| Kelly M. Cassidy | Democrat | 14th District | Yea |
| Kevin John Olickal | Democrat | 16th District | Yea |
| Kevin Schmidt | Republican | 114th District | Yea |
| Kimberly Du Buclet | Democrat | 5th District | Yea |
| Kyle Moore | Republican | 99th District | Yea |
| La Shawn K. Ford | Democrat | 8th District | Yea |
| Laura Faver Dias | Democrat | 62nd District | Yea |
| Lawrence "Larry" Walsh, Jr. | Democrat | 86th District | Yea |
| Lilian Jiménez | Democrat | 4th District | Yea |
| Lindsey LaPointe | Democrat | 19th District | Yea |
| Lisa Davis | Democrat | 32nd District | Absent, excused |
| Marcus C. Evans, Jr. | Democrat | 33rd District | Yea |
| Margaret Croke | Democrat | 12th District | Yea |
| Martha Deuter | Democrat | 45th District | Yea |
| Martin J. Moylan | Democrat | 55th District | Yea |
| Martin McLaughlin | Republican | 52nd District | Yea |
| Mary Beth Canty | Democrat | 54th District | Yea |
| Mary Gill | Democrat | 35th District | Yea |
| Matt Hanson | Democrat | 83rd District | Yea |
| Maura Hirschauer | Democrat | 49th District | Absent, excused |
| Maurice A. West, II | Democrat | 67th District | Yea |
| Michael Crawford | Democrat | 31st District | Yea |
| Michael J. Coffey, Jr. | Republican | 95th District | Yea |
| Michael J. Kelly | Democrat | 15th District | Yea |
| Michelle Mussman | Democrat | 56th District | Yea |
| Mr. Speaker | Democrat | 7th District | Yea |
| Nabeela Syed | Democrat | 51st District | Absent, excused |
| Natalie A. Manley | Democrat | 98th District | Yea |
| Nicholas K. Smith | Democrat | 34th District | Yea |
| Nicole La Ha | Republican | 82nd District | Yea |
| Nicolle Grasse | Democrat | 53rd District | Yea |
| Norine K. Hammond | Republican | 94th District | Yea |
| Norma Hernandez | Democrat | 77th District | Yea |
| Patrick Sheehan | Republican | 37th District | Yea |
| Patrick Windhorst | Republican | 117th District | Yea |
| Paul Jacobs | Republican | 118th District | Yea |
| Regan Deering | Republican | 88th District | Yea |
| Rick Ryan | Democrat | 36th District | Yea |
| Rita Mayfield | Democrat | 60th District | Yea |
| Robert "Bob" Rita | Democrat | 28th District | Yea |
| Robyn Gabel | Democrat | 18th District | Yea |
| Ryan Spain | Republican | 73rd District | Yea |
| Sharon Chung | Democrat | 91st District | Yea |
| Sonya M. Harper | Democrat | 6th District | Yea |
| Stephanie A. Kifowit | Democrat | 84th District | Yea |
| Steven Reick | Republican | 63rd District | Yea |
| Sue Scherer | Democrat | 96th District | Absent, excused |
| Suzanne M. Ness | Democrat | 66th District | Yea |
| Terra Costa Howard | Democrat | 42nd District | Yea |
| Thaddeus Jones | Democrat | 29th District | Yea |
| Theresa Mah | Democrat | 24th District | Yea |
| Tom Weber | Republican | 64th District | Yea |
| Tony M. McCombie | Republican | 89th District | Yea |
| Tracy Katz Muhl | Democrat | 57th District | Yea |
| Travis Weaver | Republican | 93rd District | Yea |
| Wayne A. Rosenthal | Republican | 108th District | Yea |
| Will Guzzardi | Democrat | 39th District | Yea |
| William "Will" Davis | Democrat | 30th District | Yea |
| William E Hauter | Republican | 87th District | Yea |
| Yolonda Morris | Democrat | 9th District | Yea |
| Legislator | Party | District | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adriane Johnson | Democrat | 30th District | Yea |
| Andrew S. Chesney | Republican | 45th District | Yea |
| Bill Cunningham | Democrat | 18th District | Yea |
| Celina Villanueva | Democrat | 12th District | Yea |
| Chapin Rose | Republican | 51st District | Yea |
| Chris Balkema | Republican | 53rd District | Yea |
| Christopher Belt | Democrat | 57th District | Not vote |
| Craig Wilcox | Republican | 32nd District | Yea |
| Cristina Castro | Democrat | 22nd District | Yea |
| Dale Fowler | Republican | 59th District | Yea |
| Darby A. Hills | Republican | 26th District | Yea |
| Dave Syverson | Republican | 35th District | Yea |
| David Koehler | Democrat | 46th District | Yea |
| Donald P. DeWitte | Republican | 33rd District | Yea |
| Doris Turner | Democrat | 48th District | Yea |
| Elgie R. Sims, Jr. | Democrat | 17th District | Yea |
| Emil Jones, III | Democrat | 14th District | Not vote |
| Erica Harriss | Republican | 56th District | Yea |
| Graciela Guzmán | Democrat | 20th District | Yea |
| Jason Plummer | Republican | 55th District | Not vote |
| Javier L. Cervantes | Democrat | 1st District | Yea |
| Jil Tracy | Republican | 50th District | Yea |
| John F. Curran | Republican | 41st District | Yea |
| Julie A. Morrison | Democrat | 29th District | Not vote |
| Karina Villa | Democrat | 25th District | Yea |
| Kimberly A. Lightford | Democrat | 4th District | Yea |
| Lakesia Collins | Democrat | 5th District | Yea |
| Laura Ellman | Democrat | 21st District | Yea |
| Laura Fine | Democrat | 9th District | Yea |
| Laura M. Murphy | Democrat | 28th District | Yea |
| Li Arellano, Jr. | Republican | 37th District | Yea |
| Linda Holmes | Democrat | 42nd District | Yea |
| Mark L. Walker | Democrat | 27th District | Yea |
| Mary Edly-Allen | Democrat | 31st District | Yea |
| Mattie Hunter | Democrat | 3rd District | Not vote |
| Meg Loughran Cappel | Democrat | 49th District | Yea |
| Michael E. Hastings | Democrat | 19th District | Not vote |
| Michael W. Halpin | Democrat | 36th District | Not vote |
| Mike Porfirio | Democrat | 11th District | Yea |
| Mike Simmons | Democrat | 7th District | Yea |
| Mr. President | Democrat | 39th District | Yea |
| Napoleon Harris, III | Democrat | 15th District | Yea |
| Neil Anderson | Republican | 47th District | Yea |
| Omar Aquino | Democrat | 2nd District | Not vote |
| Patrick J. Joyce | Democrat | 40th District | Yea |
| Paul Faraci | Democrat | 52nd District | Yea |
| Rachel Ventura | Democrat | 43rd District | Yea |
| Ram Villivalam | Democrat | 8th District | Yea |
| Robert F. Martwick | Democrat | 10th District | Yea |
| Robert Peters | Democrat | 13th District | Yea |
| Sally J. Turner | Republican | 44th District | Yea |
| Sara Feigenholtz | Democrat | 6th District | Yea |
| Seth Lewis | Republican | 24th District | Yea |
| Steve McClure | Republican | 54th District | Yea |
| Steve Stadelman | Democrat | 34th District | Yea |
| Sue Rezin | Republican | 38th District | Yea |
| Suzy Glowiak Hilton | Democrat | 23rd District | Yea |
| Terri Bryant | Republican | 58th District | Yea |
| Willie Preston | Democrat | 16th District | Yea |
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