About the Commission

1990: Illinois became the first state in the country to mandate each public elementary school and high school to include in its curriculum a study of Holocaust history.

2005: The mandate, Public Act 094-0478, was expanded to include other cases of genocide.

2010: The Illinois General Assembly passed the Illinois Holocaust and Genocide Commission Act and Governor Quinn signed it into law. The Commission became effective on January 1, 2011.

2020: After being inactive since late 2015, Governor Pritzker reactivated the Commission on December 9, 2020 with the appointments of new Commission members.