Sandwich schools among those that would need to change mascots under proposed legislation

Sandwich Middle School and Sandwich High School are two schools that may have to replace their mascots and logos by next year. Legislation that recently passed the Illinois House would ban specific mascots and logos related to Native American names and imagery.

The legislation, which now heads to the Illinois Senate, would require Illinois K-12 schools with these mascots to replace them. The bill points out specific mascots and names and applies to logos with Native American feathered headdresses or traditionally Native American weapons, especially if combined with feathers.

Sandwich High School’s mascot is the Indians and Sandwich Middle School’s mascot is the Braves, both listed as mascots that will need to be replaced.

Sandwich Community School District 430 officials could not be reached for comment about the proposed legislation.

The bill passed the Illinois House 71-40 on April 10. Among those voting against the bill was state Rep. Jed Davis, R-Yorkville.

“I voted no on the Native American mascot ban because I believe in local control, not top-down mandates from Springfield,” Davis said in an email. “Decisions like this should be made by communities, parents, and school boards – not by politicians hundreds of miles away. Many schools, like Sandwich High School, use mascots to honor tradition, community identity, and in many cases, Native American heritage itself. If a local community decides to change a mascot, it’s their choice – but forcing it through state law is unnecessary overreach. Let’s trust our local schools to lead with respect and common sense, without more mandates from Springfield.”

Sandwich Mayor Todd Latham, who is a Sandwich High School graduate, also viewed the mascot issue as a school issue.

He said no Native American nation has contacted the city about the Sandwich School District using Native American mascots.

If signed into law, Illinois schools would need to have a new mascot chosen by July 1, 2026. Other big changes, that would cost schools money, have a slightly longer delay.

Instead of requiring schools to buy new athletic uniforms and other school materials with new iconography as soon as the bill passes, schools could keep using those old materials until Sept. 1, 2027, as long as the new names and logo designs have been picked out.

There is also an exception for any school whose mascot has a direct tie with a federally recognized tribe and the school gets permission from that tribe to continue using the mascot. That consent would have to be renewed every five years, according to the bill.

This isn’t the first year the bill’s main sponsor, state Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford, has tried to pass the Native mascot ban.

When West tried in 2020, members of the Native American Chamber of Commerce of Illinois asked him to push for teaching Native American history in schools first.

That education bill didn’t make it into law until 2023.

Capitol News Illinois contributed to this story.