An Illinois house bill seeking to ban high schools from using Native American mascots passed the House on April 10, and is now being considered by the state Senate. House Bill 1237 seeks to require school boards to prohibit schools from using a native name, logo or mascot.
In July 1992, Naperville Central ditched its Redskin mascot after 54 years following a school board vote to ban offensive mascots. According to a 1992 article in the Chicago Tribune, the change marked the first high school in Illinois to abandon an offensive mascot.
The current bill has seen its fair share of opposition from those who would be affected by the change, which includes over 1,300 witness slips filed in opposition to the bill compared to just over 200 as proponents of the bill. Various school boards who would be affected by the legislation have also spoken out against the bill…