Agudath Israel of Illinois (AIOI) is disappointed with Governor Pritzker’s veto of legislation that would have paved the way for students, hospital patients, and incarcerated individuals to access meals that comply with their religious dietary restrictions.
House Bill 3643 would have made Illinois the first state in the country to mandate such accommodations and had the potential to demonstrate the state’s commitment to embracing diversity and inclusion in all its forms.
AIOI has worked closely with stakeholders to ensure all faith-based communities have access to food that complies with their religious convictions and remains committed to achieving that goal.
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3 Responses
Disapointing to see it vetoed but never even imagined it possible for public schools. What a great idea! The hoops I had to jump through as a kid were wild. When I was 8 and the cafeteria ran out of cheese pizza (which I had specifically pre-ordered) the cafeteria ladies tried to convince me to just pick off the pepperoni “problem solved”. I just ate milk and fruit that day. On passover I had to get special permission to use the fridge in the teachers lounge for my turkey and matzah sandwiches from home.
In principle, this should be a relatively non-controversial issue if there were a limited number of standard options that could be purchased in volumes at reasonable cost. The problem that has emerged even in jurisdictions which try to accommodate such requests is that individuals increasingly are making more particularized requests. States which had provide a Vegetarian option started getting requests for variations of Vegan options and “non-GMO” vegetarian; kosher requests began receiving demands for variations of mehadrim and specific hashgachos; The courts have tried to avoid deciding where to draw the lines nor have they been able to agree on how much of a premium over the standard meal costs a jurisdiction should have to pay to accommodate these requests, especially when they demanded special variations under and existing accomodation.
pack your own lunch. move to Israel and just plainly shut up…..not your country America and be thrilled you have the rights to do what you need to do politically…..Liberal and Democracy is neither without Torah…..a body needs skin and therefore Torah