East Central Reporter

Blaine Wilhour, a state representative for Illinois House District 110, expressed concerns about the state's public school system in relation to the proposed Homeschool Act. He shared his views in a Facebook post on April 9.

"My comments after the Education Policy Committee today concerning the continued push to pass HB 2827 (Homeschool Act," said Wilhour, according to Facebook. "They need to fix public schools and leave Homeschool parents and students and private schools alone!"

Following the House Education Policy Committee hearing on House Bill 2827, Wilhour said, "We’ve got 30 government schools across the state where not a single kid is reading at grade level. If you want to talk about abuse and neglect in the school system, I think that’s abusive. I think that is neglect that kids are not learning in these situations. And then they want to come after homeschooling, where all of the statistics show these students are doing much better. They’re being taught in the way they actually want because we believe in local control and we believe parents are the best sources of local control. So the government schools that are completely failing need to deal with their own problems."

Screenshot of State Representative Blaine WIlhour's April 9 Facebook post | State Representative Blaine WIlhour's Facebook page

According to Decision Magazine, as of April 7, House Bill 2827, known as the Illinois Homeschool Act, passed the House Education Policy Committee with an 8-4 vote along party lines. The article referenced a survey from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), highlighting that one-third of Illinois eighth-grade students are proficient in reading or math. It also noted that only 16% of Black eighth-grade students are proficient in reading, while just 8% perform math at grade level.

The bill was filed by Representative Terra Costa Howard on February 5, 2024. It was referred to the Rules Committee on February 6 and subsequently moved to the Education Policy Committee on March 4. An amendment was filed on March 13 and adopted by the committee on March 19 before being placed on the House calendar for further debate.

Wilhour has represented Illinois' 110th District since 2019. A lifelong resident of Illinois, he served in the Illinois Army National Guard from 1999 to 2005 and was deployed to Europe in 2002 as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. His political career includes a term on the Fayette County Board. He is also a managing partner at his family’s post-frame construction company in Effingham County.