PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) has decided not to comply with an executive order from President Trump barring the participation of biological male athletes in female sports.
👥 Who’s Involved: The IHSA, President Donald J. Trump, IHSA President Dan Tully, Illinois state lawmakers, and State Representative Blaine Wilhour.
📍 Where & When: Illinois, United States. Current ongoing issue.
💬 Key Quote: IHSA President Dan Tully: “The Illinois Human Rights Act requires that transgender athletes be permitted to participate in events and programs aligning with the gender they identify.”
⚠️ Impact: The IHSA seeks clarity from state lawmakers and the Trump administration to resolve conflicting policies, while potential federal funding cuts loom over the state.
IN FULL:
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) says it will continue to ignore a federal directive barring the participation of biological male athletes in high school girls’ sports. Previously, the State of Maine announced it would not comply with the directive, issued as an Executive Order by President Donald J. Trump in February, and now faces a federal lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
ISHA’s president, Dan Tully, claims that state law preempts the federal restriction and requires Illinois high schools to accommodate so-called transgender athletes, who are biological males, by allowing their participation in girls’ sporting events. “The Illinois Human Rights Act requires that transgender athletes be permitted to participate in events and programs aligning with the gender they identify,” Tully states in a letter to Illinois Republican lawmakers. He argues that the ISHA, “simply desires to comply with the law and takes no position as to which of the foregoing is correct or whether there can be alignment between claimed federal and state law.”
According to the ISHA—which represents 809 schools and neither receives state nor federal funding—the participation of biological males in women’s sports is determined on a case-by-case basis, suggesting it is not a blanket policy. The association claims it considers whether the gender identity change is “bona fide and/or for the purpose of gaining competitive advantage.”
However, Republican lawmakers in Springfield aren’t sold on the ISHA’s decision, and are encouraging the federal government to launch a similar Title IX investigation to the one seen in Maine. “The whole policy is sick,” State Representative Blaine Wilhour said during a recent media appearance. He continued: “Either you believe in fair competition or you don’t. The Democrat Party today… does not believe in fair competition. They put their woke ideology over protecting girls in sports.”
“[The Trump administration is] going to have to engage here, and the leverage that they’ve got is federal funding,” he added.
In 2011, Democrat lawmakers in Illinois enshrined protections for biological males who choose to identify as female to participate in women’s sporting events. Notably, Governor J.B. Pritzker (D-IL)’s cousin is billionaire James Pritzker, who identifies as “Jennifer.”
