The Illinois General Assembly moved a step closer on Jan. 9 toward requiring schools and day care centers to test for lead in their water.

Two years after originating in the Senate, the House overwhelmingly passed the bill, 108 to 1, and Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office said the administration was on board with the plan.

The bill applies to schools that teach children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade that are hooked up to a community water supply. Schools built before Jan. 1, 1987, the year after lead plumbing was banned, would have to be tested by Dec. 31, 2017. And schools built between 1987 and 2000 would have to be tested by 2018.

The state’s nearly 11,000 licensed day care centers and homes also would be included in the plan, and state officials would have to come up with testing standards and procedures by 2018.

The schools and day care centers would have to foot the bill for the cost of the one-time testing, which environmental experts said could cost anywhere from $500 to $5,000 per facility. 

The Department would also have to post on its website information about lead mitigation in schools within 90 days of passing the bill, as well as decide by June 30, 2019, whether it will require schools built after 2000 to test for lead.

More details here.

Source: Chicago Sun-Times