West Cook News

"Slippery slope" were the words Illinois state Senator John Curran (R-Downers Grove) used to describe the recent Healthcare Right of Conscience Act amendment which gives employers the ability to enforce vaccine mandates or COVID-19 testing in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

The law states that it is not a violation for employers "to take any measures or impose any requirements" that are targeted toward preventing the spread of COVID-19.

"The proposal before us diminishes religious protections in the workplace," Curran said on the Senate floor. "This is a dangerous precedent and a slippery slope."

Curran stated that lawmakers were using the bill to override protections provided to workers to require a minor medical procedure despite their religious beliefs.

"My objection is not about vaccinations. I'm vaccinated. That's not the issue here. This diminishment of protections in the workplace for workers, today this is the issue."

While he encouraged his colleagues to vote against the bill, he expressed his concerns about what this bill could mean for religious protections in the workplace in the years to come. 

"In the future it could be a diminishment of protections that allows one to take a prayer break in the workplace, allows one to wear a religious garment, a religious headdress in the workplace. If we go down this road we don't know where it ends," he said. 

The bill passed the Illinois House of Representatives with 64 yes votes, 52 no votes, and two representatives who voted present. It passed the Senate with 31 yes votes and 24 no votes. It will go into effect on June 1, 2022. 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) approved the legislation and signed it into law on Nov. 8. 

It was supported in the Illinois House of Representatives by Reps. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston) and Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield). It was sponsored in the state Senate by Sens. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) and Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake).