Quinn gets final say on wiping offensive terms from law books
Legislation that would wipe words offensive to the disabled from the state’s law books has been sent to Gov. Pat Quinn for final review.
It was originally pushed by Palatine-based attorney Kerry Lavelle, who said cleaning up the state’s statutes were a step on the way to eliminating offensive words from daily use.
The 623-page piece of legislation would replace the terms like “mental retardation” with “intellectual disability” and “crippled” with “physically disabled.”
Lavelle’s sister, Shannon, lives at a Lake Zurich care facility for the disabled.
The Illinois House approved the plan Friday by a 112-0 vote, so it now goes to Quinn.
The federal government has already made similar changes in a move called “Rosa’s Law,” and several other states have as well.