You're not alone. It usually takes a lot of chemicals to turn sports fields and play areas into acres of green velvet. Then, your kids spend quality time with those chemicals.
That's where Illinois Senate Bill 1769 comes in. Passed by the Senate and moving to the House, the law looks to protect kids from coming into contact with lawn care toxins at school and at child care.
The law would:
- put protections in place for child care centers. Current rules apply only to schools.
- notify parents four days before pesticides are applied.
- recomment a pesticide-free program for the schools and child-care centers.
- assign a staff person to oversee the program.
- allow customers and neighbors to receive copies of health and safety information from lawn care product applicators.
I don't see any bad here. Even if you think pesticides are the best thing that could happen to your child, this law's pretty OK. It's just about notification and giving parents time to make choices.
Track the bill's status here on the Illinois General Assembly's Web site.
A vote is expected in the next few weeks. Get contact info for you House representative here if you feel strongly about the bill.
Julie Todd is the night editor at The Herald News in Joliet. She and her
husband are looking to cut the chemicals and get back to basics -- minus the
granola and hemp clothing. They live in a home they bought last year in
Plainfield, where they're making changes to create their own little patch of
utopia.
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