State's stance on silence makes no sense

It's hard to understand, sometimes, what the Legislature gets done when we continually see how much it can't get done.

Last year, for example, a stalemate on the budget led to the longest overtime session on record, costing more than $1 million. This year, a budget did get passed, but it's unbalanced and a public works plan is still not approved.

But our elected representatives did manage last year to pass a bill mandating a moment of silence each day in our schools. And when Gov. Rod Blagojevich vetoed the bill, they managed to override that veto.

At the time, we said the former law that allowed, rather than required, students and teachers to observe a moment of silence was appropriate. It did not need changing and the new law served no purpose. We raised questions about how the mandated moment of silence would be defined and scheduled and we assumed the law would end up in court.

Of course, that's exactly what happened. Dawn Sherman, a student at Buffalo Grove High School and daughter of noted atheist activist Rob Sherman, filed a federal lawsuit, alleging the law was unconstitutional.

A preliminary injunction was ordered by federal Judge Robert W. Gettleman prohibiting Northwest Suburban High School District 214 from enforcing the law until the case was settled. And last week, after giving any school district the opportunity to defend the law -- surprise, none did -- Gettleman did the right thing and banned every school district from enforcing the unnecessary law.

This spring, the Legislature had the opportunity to do the right thing and amend its law from last year. And give credit to the House, it did just that, passing a bill that would again make the moment of silence optional for schools, students and teachers.

School districts are "fully capable of making this decision," said state Rep. Bill Black, a Danville Republican, at the time. Yes, they are.

But the Senate, especially Sen. Kim Lightford, a Chicago Democrat, just doesn't get it. Lightford is the legislator who pushed the measure last year and she maneuvered this year to block the House compromise. Her view on why the law is necessary: "Kids have no respect for authority. They have no structure, and they bring that behavior to the schools."

And a mandated moment of silence from a legislature that can't work together and can't get important work done on time is what's going to shake those kids up and set them on the straight and narrow. Who is she kidding?

So, now she and the Senate leadership are leaving it up to the courts to tell them what most people already know. The law is unneeded and a waste of time and resources. Their unwillingness to change the law means the state must waste money, time and resources defending the mandate. It just doesn't make any sense.