Metro East Sun

The Illinois Education Association is trumpeting a bill that stops the state’s unvaccinated teachers from receiving sick pay due to COVID-19 illness. 

The Edwardsville-based organization represents 135,000 members outside of Chicago. 

“The bill applies to all public school, community college and university employees who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or who has received the required doses within five weeks of the effective date of the act," the Illinois Education Association wrote in the press release. "The new law also allows for paycheck protection for all hourly employees in the event of an emergency school closure or e-learning days.” 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the legislation — HB1167 — into law on April 5.

"I am proud to have signed into law another important achievement of this legislative session," he said in a tweet. "This bill is a fulfillment of the promise to ensure that vaccinated teachers and school employees will have paid COVID-related leave." 

The bill, which is effective immediately, is emphatic in being limited to only the fully vaccinated.  

"(It) provides for COVID-19 paid administrative leave for school district employees who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19," the bill’s text reads. "(It also) provides for the return of sick leave used during the 2021-2022 school year to teachers and employees who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19."  

The bill also amends different acts "relating to the governance of public universities and community colleges in Illinois to provide for the return of sick leave used during the 2021-2022 school year to university or community college district employees who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19."

The move comes despite clear evidence the vaccinated often contract and spread COVID-19, and are regularly counted among the dead. A Michigan study between Jan. 1 and March 3, 2021 of COVID vaccinated residents found that 246 "considered fully vaccinated were later diagnosed with the virus, and three have died."