Andrade Advocates for Ratification of Equal Rights Amendment

CHICAGO – State Rep. Jaime Andrade, D-Chicago, is advocating for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the U.S. Constitution in Illinois.

“It is unacceptable that in 2018 women are not explicitly recognized in the text that is the foundation of our country,” Andrade said. “The ratification of the ERA is necessary to ensuring that woman are treated equally by our laws and institutions as they should be.”

First introduced in 1923, the U.S. Congress finally passed the ERA in 1972. Per the amendment process outlined in the Constitution, it was then sent to the states for ratification, stopping short of the necessary 38 states for approval. Illinois would be the 37th state to ratify out of the necessary 38. After its passage in the state Senate, the Andrade-backed Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 4 has been sent to the House for a vote.

“Codifying equal rights of the sexes is long overdue,” Andrade said. “I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the right thing by our mothers, sisters, daughters, neighbors and friends by supporting the passage of this crucial and necessary amendment.”