IL homeschool law author Costa Howard appointed judge

SPRINGFIELD - A suburban Democratic Illinois state lawmaker, who was the driving force behind a controversial - and so far, unsuccessful - measure to massively increase state and local government regulation of homeschoolers in Illinois, is leaving the legislature to become a judge.

On Sept. 23, the Illinois Supreme Court announced the court had appointed Illinois State Rep. Terra Costa Howard, D-Lombard, to serve as a resident circuit judge for the 18th Judicial Circuit in DuPage County.

According to the state high court's announcement, Costa Howard will replace DuPage County Judge Paul Fullerton upon his retirement from the bench.

Costa Howard's term on the bench will begin Oct. 17 and continue until Dec. 7, 2026. She will be eligible to run for a permanent place on the DuPage County court during the 2026 elections.

Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary K. O'Brien, who also became a judge after serving as a Democratic state lawmaker, said she was "happy the Court has selected (Costa Howard) to the bench in DuPage County."

O'Brien described Costa Howard as a "well-respected and skilled practicing attorney, with over a 25-year commitment to DuPage County."

"... I am confident she will uphold the rule of law and serve (DuPage County's) citizens with distinction," O'Brien said.

According to the Supreme Court's release, Costa Howard worked in solo practice as an attorney beginning in 2003. She has also served at the DuPage County Public Defender's Office and served as a staff attorney for the 18th Judicial Circuit from 1996-1998.

Politically, Costa Howard served two terms on the Glen Ellyn School District 41 Board of Education, including two years as the board's president, according to her official website. She also served on the Glen Ellyn village plan commission from 2015-2018.

Costa Howard was elected to the Illinois State House of Representatives in 2018, winning re-election every two years since, including most recently in 2024.

During her time in the Illinois General Assembly, Costa Howard has demonstrated a strong commitment to left-wing causes, trumpeting constitutionally questionable measures, such as gun control laws, including Illinois' ban on so-called "assault weapons," and legislation cementing Illinois' reputation as one of the most pro-abortion state governments in the U.S.

The so-called Protect Illinois Communities Act, which bans a wide range of semiautomatic firearms, is the subject of a constitutional challenge pending before the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. A federal judge had declared the law an unconstitutional violation of the Second Amendment.

Her website lauds her work to pass the law known as SB 1909, a measure designed to give the Illinois Attorney General's office the power to use a state consumer fraud law to pursue legal action against so-called crisis pregnancy centers in the name of protecting women seeking abortions from "deception" and "misinformation" from pro-life organizations.

Anti-abortion groups, however, said the law was intended by Democrats to use the state government to target them over their speech and activism against abortion.

A federal judge agreed, calling SB 1909, a "stupid and likely unconstitutional" attempt to silence speech disfavored by the state's Democratic leadership. The judge blocked the law from being enforced.

Rather than appeal the judge's ruling, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul agreed to never attempt to enforce the provisions of SB 1909.

Costa Howard served as the primary House sponsor on SB 1909.

However, Costa Howard likely became best known among Illinois voters for her recent attempt to push through legislation intended to ramp up government supervision of homeschooling.

Costa Howard introduced the legislation in February 2025.

Under the legislation as amended, Illinois would have become the first state in the U.S. to increase restrictions on homeschooling families, while handing state bureaucrats large new powers to craft even more stringent regulations in coming years.

For 75 years, Illinois families have enjoyed some of the widest freedoms to educate their children at home, without state intervention.

However, in the wake of news reports asserting that Illinois homeschooled students are more likely to be unreported victims of abuse, Costa Howard and other progressive Democrats - all of whom have enjoyed strong political and financial support from teachers unions - moved to clamp down on homeschooling.

Under HB2827, among other requirements, Illinois homeschool families would be required to file reports and "portfolios" with their local public school districts each year or risk being prosecuted under truancy laws, potentially including the risk of jail time.

The law would also have required parents to hold at least a high school diploma to be allowed to home school their children.

However, under its own language, HB2827 would have served as merely the opening salvo in a legal and regulatory assault on homeschooling in Illinois, as it explicitly created a new section in the state school code empowering the state to place yet more regulatory burdens and rules on homeschoolers in coming years.

This past spring, the legislation created a firestorm of opposition, as homeschool families and others descended by the thousands on the state capitol to lobby lawmakers against the bill and filed tens of thousands of so-called "witness slips" opposing HB2827.

Opponents called the legislation an unprecedented assault on parental rights in Illinois.

The national Home School Legal Defense Association, for instance, called HB2827 "the most authoritarian bill proposed in the country in the last three decades," for attempting to place "automatic criminal penalties on homeschool families who do not file a piece of paperwork ... or automatically refer them to a state attorney for prosecution."

The legislation passed through a House committee, but was never called for a vote on the House floor by Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch.

Welch has publicly stated he, under his immense powers as Speaker of the State House, will not allow legislation to be called for a vote by the full state House unless he has received assurances that the legislation has the support of a supermajority of 60 House Democrats.

Costa Howard's appointment to the bench came despite public opposition from conservative activists, including Illinois Family Action, who asserted Costa Howard's record "as a very political and partisan legislator ... has made it impossible ... to properly maintain the appearance of, if not actual, judicial impartiality."

"She has already expressed, loudly, her personal views on a potential myriad of ongoing and future legal cases," Illinois Family Action said.

Costa Howard was chosen from among three potential candidates, including attorneys Julie A. Johnson and Alice L. Wilson.

In a statement included in the release announcing her appointment to the bench, Costa Howard said: “From my first days of working in the Chief Judge’s office and the DuPage County Public Defender’s office, to my current role as State Representative, I have worked to serve the people of DuPage County.

“I believe that every step of my career has led me toward this new challenge, and I look forward to the prospect of bringing my experience – in law and in life – to the bench.”