Quincy Reporter

Mary Miller, the Illinois representative for the 15th Congressional District, has voiced her opposition to what she describes as Governor J.B. Pritzker's "radical trans agenda," which she claims negatively impacts women's sports and young female athletes.

"Girls across Illinois are being forced to compete on an unfair playing field, and it's time to say enough," said Mary E. Miller, U.S. Representative of Illinois's 15th congressional district (R), according to Facebook. "JB Pritzker's radical trans agenda is destroying women's sports and betraying an entire generation of young female athletes. Let me be clear: if you violate Title IX, you must be held accountable to the full extent of the law. I will not let our girls be pushed aside and silenced."

Miller is advocating for federal intervention following an incident where a transgender female student participated in a seventh-grade track event at the Napier Prairie Conference meet on March 14. This event has generated significant controversy. In April, Miller sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Education Secretary Linda McMahon, urging them to consider withdrawing federal funding from Illinois due to this issue. The report also pointed out an investigation into Deerfield Public School District 109, where female middle school students were reportedly required to share locker rooms with a transgender student.

Screenshot of U.S. Rep. Mary Miller's May 21 Facebook post | U.S. Rep. Mary Miller's Facebook page

In a Facebook post, Miller shared the letter she sent to Bondi and McMahon. The letter said that a boy identifying as a transgender female was allowed to compete in the Napier Prairie Conference track meet at Jefferson Middle School, winning multiple races and awards that Miller believes should have been awarded to the girls competing. She further criticized Governor Pritzker for making Illinois unsafe for women and girls and argued that any school district allowing biological males to compete in female sports or use female locker rooms should face federal funding review and possible revocation.

On May 19, Awake Illinois filed a civil rights complaint against Naperville Community Unit School District 203. According to the group's press release, the district’s board policy does not explicitly allow male students to participate on female athletic teams nor address access to opposite-sex bathrooms or locker rooms. The release alleges that government officials, state agencies, and local school districts are misapplying the Illinois Human Rights Act and Illinois State Board of Education guidance in ways conflicting with federal Title IX protections.

Miller is currently serving in the U.S. Congress representing Illinois’ 15th district after replacing John Shimkus in 2021. She graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1959, Miller now resides in Oakland with her husband on their fourth-generation family farm. They have seven children and twenty grandchildren.