The Illinois House passed a bill last week by a vote of 71-38 that would ban public schools from using mascots that discriminate against people with disabilities.

Freeburg High School’s mascot, the “Midgets,” is considered by many as a slur used against people with dwarfism.

The bill still has to go through the Senate.

State Rep. Kevin Schmidt (R-Millstadt), who represents Freeburg, argued against the bill last Tuesday on the House floor, saying it should be a local issue decided by the school board. 

“The mascot is a celebration and recognition that it is not the physical attributes that define a person – it is what is on the inside that matters. The team showed tremendous heart and did not let their physical disadvantages stop them from winning,” Rep. Schmidt said. “Context matters. The people in Freeburg are not making fun of anyone. They are celebrating the character and heart that built their athletic program.”

According to the school’s website, Freeburg’s mascot was chosen during the 1930s when a Belleville reporter coined the term because the tallest member of its basketball team was just 5-foot-10. 

Under House Bill 3527, Freeburg could continue using “uniforms or other materials” it bought before the bill was passed until Sept. 1, 2028  – as long as it already picked a new mascot, according to the bill’s language. The bill doesn’t clarify what repercussions, if any, the school would face if it didn’t change its mascot.

On Thursday, a separate bill passed in the House by a vote of 71-40 that seeks to require Illinois K-12 schools to pick new mascots to replace those that reference Native American names and imagery.

If House Bill 1237 is signed into law, schools would have to have a new mascot chosen by July 1, 2026. Other big changes, that would cost schools money, have a slightly longer delay.

Instead of requiring schools to buy new athletic uniforms and other school materials with new iconography as soon as the bill passes, schools could keep using those old materials until Sept. 1, 2030, as long as the new names and logo designs have been picked out.

There is also an exception for any school whose mascot has a direct tie with a federally recognized tribe and the school gets permission from that tribe to continue using the mascot. That consent would have to be renewed every five years, according to the bill.

(featuring reporting from Capitol News Illinois)