Junk ban approved
Wednesday, Oct 11, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
The governor got his junk food ban, just in time for the election.
Elementary- and middle-school pupils will not be able to buy snacks with high fat, sugar or calorie content before and during the school day under new state rules approved Tuesday.
While existing state rules already prohibit the sale of junk food in elementary schools during breakfast and lunch, they did not apply to the entire school day or to middle schools as the new rules do. High schools are not affected by the changes.
Under the rules, juice sold in schools must contain 50 percent or more juice, while water must be non-flavored, non-carbonated and unsweetened. Snacks that will be allowed for sale include nuts, seeds, cheese, fruit, non-fried vegetables and low-fat yogurt products.
Any other item must contain no more than 200 calories total and meet restrictions on fat and sugar content.
Legislators complained, but the proposal was approved by JCAR.
“This is pre-election puffery, rather than a very thoughtful, comprehensive approach to children’s nutrition and health,” said state Rep. Larry McKeon, a Chicago Democrat who sits on the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.
McKeon and seven other JCAR members, including two Republicans who broke ranks, agreed to lift a previous prohibition on rules the Blagojevich administration had sought to impose on K-8 schools in Illinois. Under them, vending-machine fare such as candy and soda cannot be sold during the entire school day; the items previously were off-limits at elementary schools during breakfast and lunch hours, Blagojevich’s office said.
McKeon said his reservations include concerns that rules promulgated by the Illinois State Board of Education may be inconsistent with new federal standards for school food. He also questioned why the governor’s education agency wants to implement the plan immediately, rather than give schools until Jan. 1 to become familiar with it.
State Rep. Rosemary Mulligan, R-Des Plaines, said she cast her “yes” vote with “great reluctance” because Blagojevich’s timing right before the election is suspicious.
- Juice - Wednesday, Oct 11, 06 @ 8:48 am:
You have got to be kidding me, absolutely kidding me! Rod gets a ban on junk food approved! Oh my God! Call the National Guard! How dare he! This could be the start of something… Oh, I don’t know…. Good? Show me the harm… Honestly, I can’t believe this is a topic today, and a negative one too! Amazing!
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Oct 11, 06 @ 9:04 am:
Gotta love the legislators who condemn the Governor’s tactics, then vote to support them.
- Jaded - Wednesday, Oct 11, 06 @ 9:05 am:
Wasn’t it sure nice of Tom Cross to provide the Governor an election season JCAR victory? Can’t wait to remind his minions of this the next time they start complaining about the Governor’s tactics.
Also I loved the Governors quote “Ask any parent if they want their kids drinking soda and eating candy at school and they will say no”. Where the hell does he think elementary and middle school kids get the money for vending machines…from their parents. If the parents don’t want the kids to eat candy and drink soda at school, they won’t send them to school with change in their pocket. Course, if your kid gets $1500 checks all the time, they can afford their own soda and junk food, so maybe this is just about keeping his own kids thin.
Let’s face it folks, kids aren’t getting fat from what they eat at school. Go have lunch with your kid sometime. They hardly have time to eat, and believe me they burn those calories at recess. Kids get fat because they come home from school, play video games for 5 hours and eat twinkies. Then their parents come home with chicken nuggets and french fries because they don’t have time to cook a healthy meal. Kids are getting fat at home, not at school. The only way we are going to get healthier kids is if parents start paying more attention to their kids.
- Juice - Wednesday, Oct 11, 06 @ 9:11 am:
Hello Jaded,
Wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?
- Jaded - Wednesday, Oct 11, 06 @ 9:20 am:
Good Morning Juice,
Nah, its just a crappy day and I feel like being surly, but I’m not wrong.
- Juice - Wednesday, Oct 11, 06 @ 9:32 am:
Well Jaded,
My problem with what you said is the twinkies and fries. My kids eat healthy at home, it’s when they are not at home when I am concerned about what they eat. I DO give my kids money for school. They choose not to use it because they have food from home with them but they have money for emergencies and whatever. They can get a coke or candy bay if they want but they choose not to, they would rather have fruit, which is NOT included in my kids schools vending machines…
- Shelbyville - Wednesday, Oct 11, 06 @ 9:35 am:
Goodness, we all grew up eating that cr*p the cafeteria put out. It was so high in sugar, fat and salt that we were tempted to asleep by 1pm. I can’t support banning snack machines and sweet drinks.
- Hard Working Taxpayer - Wednesday, Oct 11, 06 @ 9:41 am:
This is another example of Government deciding what is best for your children…It is getting frightening.
- Juice - Wednesday, Oct 11, 06 @ 9:53 am:
Oh my! Our Governor (an elected human being) with committee approval (more human beings) decided it was a good thing. Your elected officials are there because of you! so Thanks! Mr. Hard Working Taxpayer.
- Eagle I - Wednesday, Oct 11, 06 @ 9:57 am:
Quick, who will get the contract for the new Food Police uniforms? Will this be a branch of the Secretary of State Police or a new agency? Will they be armed with potato cannons and pea shooters?
- cermak_rd - Wednesday, Oct 11, 06 @ 9:57 am:
I like this idea. Among other things, the hope is that it will prompt schools to actually put decent stuff into their vending machines or update their vending companies to provide more healthy alternatives. When I was in high school, I sometimes did homework during lunch but was then starving when it got to around 2:00pm. It would have been nice to grab an apple or pear or something but all the vending machine had was chips and candy bars.
Yes, this alone will not make children thin and healthy. That responsibility falls on their parents (well and their health & metabolism etc.) however, during the school day the school is to a great degree in loco parentis.
- Jaded - Wednesday, Oct 11, 06 @ 9:59 am:
Well Juice,
Are your kids fat? My guess is that they are not. My kids are not fat either. Now, I would not go as far as to say they would RATHER have fruit than a coke or a candy bar, but they do eat fruit and vegtables and they know they have limits on the junk food. By the way, there is really nothing wrong with a kid having a coke and a candy bar every once in a while.
So, why do you think your kids eat this way? Do you think it is because you let the schools and government raise your kids, or do you think it is because you raise your kids and pay attention to them? How many meals away from home do your kids have each day? Mine only have one unless they stay with a friend or relative after school, and then, we find out (as best we can) what they did and what they ate. I am still looking for you to point out what I was wrong about.
- Atticus Finch - Wednesday, Oct 11, 06 @ 10:03 am:
What bothers me most about this is it cuts off a much needed revenue stream for schools. And in district 186, schools aren’t even allowed to sell healthy snacks to kids, and I don’t see the sense in that. What if a kid hates his lunch of a low-fat corn dog and cottage cheese? Now the poor guy can’t even buy a cheese stick and a pickle to get him through the rest of the day.
I don’t know about the rest of you parents but I am tired of selling wrapping paper and candles to support every activity my kid is in, and now we’re going to have to sell even more to make up for the removal of the snack carts.
Just out of curiosity, how many of you have kids in schools where soda machines are in the cafeteria? In mine it is in the teachers’ lounge. Which makes me wonder if that is going to have to be removed too?
- BBrook - Wednesday, Oct 11, 06 @ 10:07 am:
I’m agreeing with Jaded. It sounds nice on the surface–No More Junk Food.It starts at home. Kids now sit on their duff and play video games all day. I’m at an age that I had a 1st generation Nintendo in school. I played some but usually when it was raining or dark and couldn’t be outside. Now I see these kids as young as 5 or 6 and these games consume them. I ate like crap in school but didn’t get fat because I played outside and kept active. Its feel good legislation. Just like most of Blago’s ideas.
- Concerned - Wednesday, Oct 11, 06 @ 10:20 am:
I support this change, but I still will not vote for him.
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, Oct 11, 06 @ 10:36 am:
I guess we are all a bunch of freakin’ idiots who need to be told what to eat. Thank God for the Nanny State Democrats!
- paladin644 - Wednesday, Oct 11, 06 @ 1:42 pm:
Elementary and Junior High kids are not gonna eat raisins and Trail Mix! Period! It is moronic to think they will. A previous poster was correct that any calories taken in during lunch are burned up before school lets out for the day. Put down the Gameboys and Playstations at home and go outside for some fresh air and exercise.
NOTE TO ROD: Worry about your own kids will you please? Maybe suggest to the First Lady she not dress them in the latest fashions from the Red Shield store as she apparently did during the recent State Fair…..