Bills to make Daylight Saving Time year-round standard get fresh attention

A proposal to abolish time changes and make daylight saving time the year-round standard in Illinois could be voted on next week. (Photo courtesy: WJBC/File)

By Illinois Radio Network

SPRINGFIELD – Proposed legislation in both the Illinois House and Senate would make daylight saving time the year-round standard in Illinois.

Both proposals would eliminate the twice-a-year time changes between daylight saving time and standard time. Sponsors of both bills said they hope to see the measures taken up during next week’s veto session in Springfield.

In the House, state Rep. Allen Skillicorn, R-East Dundee, filed House Bill 3837 earlier this year. His proposal would eliminate the time change in Illinois. He said the need for Daylight Saving Time changes have become outdated and obsolete.

“Frankly moving the clocks back and forth is a big deal for commuters and workers, and it’s not very good for sleep habits either,” Skillicorn said.

The time changes can affect sleep habits and health. The National Safety Council this week released the results of a study it conducted about sleep. The survey found 70 percent of Americans were concerned that their sleep habits affect their overall health, and 67 percent worried about the effects on their mental well being.

A similar bill introduced in the Illinois Senate also calls for the elimination of the time changes. State Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, is a sponsor of Senate Bill 533. On social media this week, Manar said he has received a lot of support for the bill.

Manar said he plans to call the bill for a debate a vote on the Senate floor next week.

Both the House and Senate versions of the bill would take effect at the time change in March 2020.

Arizona and Hawaii, along with some U.S. territories, don’t observe daylight saving time.

Illinois Radio Network can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…