



Advocates of a new law requiring state-run facilities to offer halal and kosher meal options upon request are busy brainstorming what’s next after the bill, which was subject to appropriations, did not make it into the Illinois budget in June.
The Faith by Plate Act, also referred to as the halal/kosher bill, was a hard-fought victory for the Muslim Civic Coalition and other advocacy groups that rallied behind the bill for years. Initially drafted in 2023 and vetoed in 2024, the bill was revived with support from the Illinois State Board of Education this year and was signed by Gov. JB Pritzker on March 21, making Illinois the first state to require public school districts and state-run hospitals and prisons to offer halal and kosher meals.
But hurdles remain as the legislation requires state funding before lawmakers can enact a 12-month implementation period.
“We’re just waiting for the appropriation to be made to really implement the program,” said state Rep. Kevin John Olickal, the primary sponsor for the bill in the Illinois House. “This is what we have to work on over the summer.”
Olickal, a Chicago Democrat, said he and others who supported the bill understood it was a hard ask to make in an already difficult budget year. But because the bill exists in statute, it’s just a matter of pushing its priority through to the legislature, he added.
“Instead of funding programming, we were making a lot of cuts and tough decisions, so this is something that we kind of expected going into this year,” Olickal said. “We have to continue the advocacy around it and continue to fight for the appropriation, but also balance that with a very difficult budget year, especially in one where we’re seeing the federal government making bigger cuts to things like higher education and public education.”
Olickal said he understands the frustrations of Muslim and Jewish parents of public school students who follow strict dietary restrictions and struggle with limited cafeteria lunch options.
For Muslims who eat halal, the permissibility of meats such as chicken and beef depends on how the animal was treated, slaughtered and prepared. Pork, for instance, is never halal. It’s common for students who abide by halal rules to choose vegetarian meals or seafood to play it safe.
Khadija Basith, whose children attend Forest Glen Elementary School in Glen Ellyn, said there haven’t historically been many healthy, filling choices for her kids that fall under halal dietary restrictions.
And it isn’t just parents of current students who are eager to see the Faith by Plate Act implemented. Glen Ellyn resident Naazish YarKhan, the owner of Writers Studio, a college essay and writing consulting firm, said she wants what’s best for the students in her community.
“I hope the state finds funding and understands that this is a tool for equity,” YarKhan said.
YarKhan, who lives in District 41, said she was one of the community members who pushed Glen Ellyn School District 41 to work with its food service provider, Quest, to introduce halal options to students. The district rolled out what it referred to as “halal-friendly” options in April. School officials said they are working to implement halal-certified meals as requested by several parents.
The move isn’t a result of the halal/kosher bill but rather a demand from the community, including Basith, Yarkhan and others who frequently emailed school officials about adding halal menu items.
“If school districts are on board and communities are available to advocate for the needs of Muslim and Jewish students, then it can be possible,” Yarkhan said.
YarKhan said that without a tangible way to put the law in effect, the bill could easily be sidelined as “performative” legislation.
Maaria Mozaffar, an Illinois attorney and legislative drafter who authored the Faith by Plate Act, said a separate appropriations bill will be pushed by multifaith communities, including Muslim and Jewish leaders.
Chicago-based Rabbi Shlomo Soroka, director of government affairs at Agudath Israel of Illinois, was tapped by Mozaffar to work with the coalition on Faith by Plate.
“Whenever it comes to having a sensitivity towards dietary restrictions that are faith-related, it’s important to the Jewish community that other faiths that may have dietary restrictions be accommodated and the Muslim community shares that sentiment,” Soroka said. “It’s only natural that we should be supporting each other.”
Soroka said the Orthodox Jewish faith follows a “very complex” process for keeping kosher. In almost all cases, naturally grown produce before it’s cooked and processed is kosher. When it comes to poultry and beef, the way the animal is slaughtered and prepared also makes a big difference, he said.
Part of the intention of the mandate is to make kosher guidelines possible for school cafeterias and make halal meat options available to students who request them. Both would require school districts to source meat from certified suppliers that regularly undergo compliance inspections for kosher and halal.
Though there is an existing halal food infrastructure in Illinois, the costs of servicing public schools, state-run hospitals and prisons isn’t as clear.
Olickal said the estimated costs given for the program hovered between $10 million and $20 million for the first year, with the caveat that pricing could depend on competition among vendors.
But Amina Barhumi, advocacy and policy lead for the Muslim Civic Coalition, said the estimates were probably well above the actual costs.
“I think it was very clear that that was a missing piece, because it is a very new policy, there were only the estimates that were being provided by one state agency that were very high compared to what likely would be the cost for implementation,” Burhami explained.
Burhami and other advocates, such as those working with the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America, next plan to create a community-led task force to tackle the complexities of procuring funds, troubleshoot issues that prevented the bill from making it into the budget and provide clarity for next steps.
“Legislative advocacy takes time — passing the bill is one step, funding it is another,” Burhami said. “It underscores that implementation is one of the most difficult long-term steps, and we intend to commit to it full throttle.”
Burhami said that, ideally, the Illinois State Board of Education would also be part of the task force involved in procuring appropriations. The law as it stands requires ISBE to enter into one or more statewide master contracts with a vendor and give school districts access to the contract so they can more efficiently provide additional meal options to students, including halal and kosher.