Carroll-Backed Effort to Pass Equal Rights Amendment in Illinois Clears House with Bipartisan Vote

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Jonathan Carroll, D-Buffalo Grove, helped ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in Illinois on Wednesday, making it the 37^th state to ratify the amendment to the Constitution that would guarantee constitutional protections against gender-based discrimination.

“It is humbling to have taken such a historic, critical vote that will help both women and men,” said Carroll. “Our constitution needs to be updated now more than ever to guarantee equal rights to women because we can’t look to Washington to lead on women’s issues anymore.”

Carroll was one of the chief backers of the legislation to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment – Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 4.

The Equal Rights Amendment would guarantee constitutional protection of the rights of all citizens regardless of sex. The measures would help to provide clearer judicial standards for deciding cases of sex discrimination and help women combat wage discrimination in the workplace. In order for ratification to the Constitution, approval is required by 38 states.

“Washington is continuing to erode women’s rights in health care, employment and other critical areas,” Carroll continued. “Today we showed Trump that women are going to fight to protect their rights.”

SJRCA 4 passed both the Senate and the House with a supermajority, making Illinois the 37^th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.