A new Illinois law recently signed by Governor Bruce Rauner will require large airports, including Midway and O’Hare, to have lactation rooms by 2017. Smaller Illinois airports will have to add private rooms when building new terminals or renovating existing ones. At least at Midway and O’Hare, moms will not have to wait until 2017 as new Mothers’ Rooms already have been opened.
A Mother’s Room for traveling moms to use for breastfeeding and pumping, equipped with comfortable seating, a sink, wash area and wall-mounted TV already opened at Midway Airport this month on Concourse C, next to the Yoga Room.
The ADA-compliant Mother’s Room at O’Hare International Airport opened this month as well on the mezzanine level of the Rotunda Area, in Terminal 3 near the Yoga Room and O’Hare’s urban garden. Terminals 1, 2 and 5 also are scheduled to get Mothers’ Rooms before the end of the year.
Congratulations to one of our own working moms–Emily Masalski at Rooney Rippie and Ratnaswamy LLP and Chair of the ISBA Women and the Law Committee–for identifying this concern and working to have legislation introduced that resulted in the passage of this important, long overdue law!
Balancing Act 