When it comes to advocating for change through the General Assembly, there is no guarantee persistence pays off in the end. But giving up makes failure a certainty, which leaves pushing uphill the only viable option.

In February 2025, I wrote about Ashley Peden, a Taylorville mother and teacher who has been pushing for a change to state law requiring a mandatory one-year expulsion for students determined to have committed sexual violence or assault against another student when there is a tangible connection to the school.

According to Capitol News Illinois, Peden said, “between late January and early February 2024, her 10-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted by an older student who was 14 years old on their school bus and at their bus stop. The assaults increased in severity every day until the final assault, where her daughter was chased from her bus stop and raped.”

Last year, the push was behind Senate Bill 98, which didn’t get a committee assignment before the deadline. This time around, it’s Senate Bill 2991, which passed the Criminal Law Committee on March 11 with a 9-0 vote and is now in the Education Committee with an April 24 deadline.

Leading backers remain the same: state Sens. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, and Jil Tracy, R-Quincy, along with state Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Murrayville, all quoted in a Feb. 26 release along with Peden, who said “A year ago, I stood with Sen. McClure to push for this change, but our bill never made it to the Senate floor for a vote. In the meantime, kids across the state have been left to rely on so-called ‘safety plans’ that don’t actually keep anyone safe.”

McClure and Davidsmeyer have stressed the importance of schools treating sexual violence with the same seriousness as other conduct that triggers mandatory expulsions, like carrying certain weapons onto school property. Current sexual assault laws allow expulsions of up to two calendar years, according to the Victim Rights Law Center, but lawmakers remain concerned about administrative discretion.

“While most schools respond to these situations appropriately, the schools that do not are causing incredible emotional distress to the victims, their families and potentially placing other students at risk,” McClure told me in an email Monday. “Although schools will still have the option to expel up to two years, I think a one-year minimum is necessary, simply because of the poor decisions some schools have made.”

Merits aside, this issue exemplifies the circuitous paths the Statehouse often demands. A precipitating incident, legislative response and meaningful support don’t guarantee change, but when people believe in their cause and refuse to concede, the door is never fully closed.

“At first you won’t succeed” is unfair, but backup plans are always advisable.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.