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* Click here for the letter. WGN…
The Illinois High School Association [last] week said it would keep in place its policy to allow transgender athletes to compete in high school sports competitions despite an executive order from President Donald Trump because the order may conflict with state law.
In a Tuesday letter, the IHSA’s board president and executive director said the Illinois Human Rights Act “requires that transgender athletes be permitted to participate in events and programs aligning with the gender with which they identify.”
“Compliance with the Executive Order could place the IHSA out of compliance with the Illinois Human Rights Act and vice versa,” IHSA Board President Dan Tulley and Executive Director Craig Anderson wrote in response to a March letter from 40 Republican lawmakers demanding to know how the IHSA was going to “amend policy to comply with federal directives.” […]
The IHSA clarified that its transgender policy only applied to state series competition with which it sponsors. Member schools determine the participation of transgender students during the regular season.
* HGOP Leader Tony McCombie…
Illinois House Republican Leader Tony McCombie issued the following statement today in response to the Illinois High School Association’s (IHSA) April 15 response to the House Republican Caucus, nearly a month after receiving a formal letter requesting clarity and action on federal protections for women and girls in sports:
“The IHSA has once again chosen deflection over direction, and ambiguity over action. Their response is not just late—it’s weak. Saying, ‘It’s not our problem,’ doesn’t serve the students of this state. It’s not leadership—it’s a cop-out.
“This is not about politics but student safety and delaying clarity on this issue only prolongs the problem. If state law contradicts federal law, then the path forward is to work in good faith to resolve that conflict—not hide from it and risk losing federal dollars.”
“The House Republican Caucus stands united. We call on the IHSA, the Attorney General, the Governor, and all state officials to engage with federal authorities and bring clarity to this issue before a student gets hurt—because one incident is one too many.”
I asked over the weekend what particular federal statute the state law is contradicting. Still waiting.
* Fox News…
Rep. Blaine Wilhour, who led the initiative to send the first letter to IHSA over the issue, told Fox News Digital he is calling on Illinois school districts and school boards to pass local resolutions banning trans athletes from girls sports. […]
Wilhour condemned Gov. JB Pritzker and the Democratic majority in the state’s legislature for the state’s laws that enable trans inclusion in girls sports. Wilhour added that he is calling on the Trump administration to intervene and potentially cut funding in response. […]
“[The Trump administration is] going to have to engage here, and the leverage that they’ve got is federal funding. We take millions in federal funding from the government every year. And we don’t really savor the situation where that would be withheld. … But I’ll take my chances with doing the right thing. … Banning boys from participating in girls sports is the right thing to do, so we need to do the tough things to make it happen.”
* Alton Telegraph…
Republican State Representative Amy Elik from Alton was one of the signers of the letter to the IHSA. […]
Alton High School athletic director Chris Kusnerick said that in his six years at AHS, the issue has not come up.
“We’ve have not, to my knowledge, had any requests,” Kusnerick said. “I don’t know if there have been any at any school in our conference.”
Kusnerick indicated that the Alton School District does not have a specific policy on transgender participation and that any cases would be taken up and handled by the district’s board of education.
* You’d never know it to look at the breathless coverage, but the numbers are infinitesimally small…
Out of more than 320,000 high school athletes across the state, only three students assigned male at birth were approved in the past year to compete in girls’ sports, while two were approved the previous year.
Just three people and yet Wilhour wants all public schools in the state to lose their federal funding.
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 1:22 pm
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On this issue, GOP / Trumpers remind me of the neighborhood prude who was told police wouldn’t accept a public nudity complaint against her neighbor - he was only visible chest up. Her reply was “Stand on my ladder, stand on my ladder!”
Comment by Anyone Remember Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 1:39 pm
No matter how small the number only males should compete against males and females against females. The gender being our biological birth of course. I don’t even care so much about funding and such just basic common sense. Males and females are very different but I am sure in the minority at least some think in Illinois.
Comment by clec dcn Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 1:41 pm
You would think the “good faith negotiators” would be able to quickly point to the federal law the State is contradicting so we could address the issue quickly and in good faith
Comment by Lonely Lisle Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 1:43 pm
I know I am a broken record on this, if you are worried about school sports being “fair” the resource differences between schools contributes about a million times more than 3 atheletes competing in the state series
Comment by OneMan Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 1:46 pm
===the resource differences between schools===
Good point.
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 1:59 pm
Yep. Three.
If by chance one of these three young citizens wins a position on a team, and if by chance one of these three young citizens wins an award, we should be so very, very proud of that young citizen as we would any and all of our children.
If on the other hand, there is a parent who is upset because one of their children did not win the position on the team that this transgender student won, there are solutions. Compete harder.
And if one of these three transgender students wins an award at an individual level meet, there are also solutions. Compete harder.
Alternatively, one right and righteous solution might be to allow all transgender students to compete everywhere, and not allow districts to overrule. If we did this, then we could use the times in swimming, track, etc. to keep a state register of all times, and allow transgender people to compete among themselves for state recognition. But until we have a systemic solution, compete harder if you are beaten by other children of any gender.
Comment by H-W Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 2:01 pm
No doubt, the sheer lack of trans athletes indicates this is hardly the most important issue we are facing as a society. Heck, it’s probably not in the top 500. But the Republicans have public opinion squarely in their corner on this, so they’re gonna ride it for all it’s worth.
Comment by TNR Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 2:01 pm
- No matter how small the number only males should compete against males and females against females. -
I’m from Forgottonia and have squared off against a biological female who played defensive line for another school nearby. It seemed like every other year there was a female on one of the football teams in the area, baseball too.
At elite levels I’m a little uncomfortable with trans females having an edge over biological females, in high school sports not so much. Shut up and let the kids play.
Comment by Excitable Boy Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 2:08 pm
Like it or not, this is an issue that contributed to Harris’ defeat. Will Democrats doubledown on this 80/20 culture war issue?
Comment by anon2 Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 2:16 pm
OneMan, excellent point.
McCombie’s statement is baloney. “This is not about politics but student safety …” Of course this is simply about politics - MAGA GOP hate politics. There has been no evidence that there is any safety issue among the minute number of trans athletes participating in sports.
“If state law contradicts federal law, …” McCombie needs to understand that EO’s are not federal laws.
Comment by Norseman Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 2:17 pm
@EB, I don’t want to shut my thoughts are as good as anyone else here and kids should be taught about many issues including these. I did not make the basketball team when I was in 9th grade, and they did not let me play. Had nothing to do with my gender at the time. But they did not shut up and let me play. There is more to this in principle.
Comment by clec dcn Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 2:25 pm
- my thoughts are as good as anyone else here -
Yeah, I don’t think so.
- this is an issue that contributed to Harris’ defeat. -
Please show the data that indicates this.
Comment by Excitable Boy Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 2:28 pm
DQ, the WBEZ report you’re citing says, “The state sports organization estimates there are about 25 trans athletes out of 133,000 statewide, about three or four of which are trans girls.” This matches the 3 number cited in this post. No one seems to be worried about trans boys.
Comment by KSDinCU Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 2:53 pm
Illinois loses Fed $ over the issue of MC helmets. When you accept federal money you play by their rules. Is this the hill that JB wants to die on as he has POTUS aspirations?
Comment by just the facts Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 2:59 pm
Be interesting to know what sport they played. And 3 kids? Probably all graduate or tire of the sport before long so in the grand scheme of things not a number one priority for the state I would think
Comment by DuPage Saint Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 3:01 pm
===Illinois loses Fed $ over the issue of MC helmets===
Nope.
===you play by their rules===
A likely unenforceable EO is not a rule.
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 3:02 pm
== Please show the data that indicates this (how the trans issue helped Trump win).==
“Not only did Trump’s ads on the trans issue shift viewers 2.7 percent toward Trump in the states they ran in (more than his margin of victory), the issue was particularly potent for swing voters.
“When swing voters were given 25 possible reasons for why they didn’t vote for Harris, the statement that she “
‘focused more on cultural issues like transgender issues than helping the middle class’ was the most-cited reason by those who chose Trump. Number One. I repeat: more swing voters voted for Trump on that issue than on inflation or immigration.”
~ Andrew Sullivan quoted by Eric Zorn
Comment by anon2 Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 3:05 pm
== Like it or not, this is an issue that contributed to Harris’ defeat. Will Democrats doubledown on this 80/20 culture war issue? ==
It is depressing that “How should Democrats respond politically to Republicans making 1 in 100,000 children into imaginary bogeymen” and the answer is anything other than “emphasize how weird and dishonest Republicans are.”
Why would I vote for someone who is willing to throw a regularly victimized minority group under the bus to appease the liars?
Comment by Homebody Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 3:13 pm
Let’s look at this from a different, objective perspective.
I am sure Wilhour and McCombie will be the first to agree that we need to entitle and enable all children and students, equal access to physical activities and sports. And indeed, that is the intention of the U.S. Congress regarding Title IX - equal access regardless of social category.
So if McCombie and Wilhour and Elik are absolutely opposed to allowing some children to participate in girls sports, then what is their proposed solution? Is it to force transgender students to compete against boys? If competing against girls is untenable to some folks, then competing against boys is equally untenable.
If some people want to exclude transgender people, then these people need to create a new way to include transgender children that (a) does no harm, and (b) provides equal opportunity.
I am always shocked that these people are absolutely opposed to even allowing transgender children to participate with girls. Why not? If it is trophies, then create a new scenario that empowers both girls and transgender girls. But excluding transgender girls from girls sports and forcing transgender girls to compete against boys is punitive, not corrective. Corrective might look like creating separate divisions within girls (and boys) sports so that all children compete at their best levels, and those who excel are rewarded within potentially new categories.
Currently, the Republican proposal is to intentionally punish transgender children, so as to not potentially harm other children. Surely, this is a violation of God’s Will for his children, and our society’s obligation to serve all children. If Republicans can articulate a way to exclude, they absolutely must provide a solution that includes. Currently, they have none.
Comment by H-W Monday, Apr 21, 25 @ 3:18 pm