Trump's daylight saving time push puts Illinois and Florida at odds
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Chicagoans turned back their clocks Sunday, gaining an extra hour of sleep but losing an hour of evening daylight. Could it be one of the last times?
Why it matters: President Trump and House lawmakers want to make daylight saving time permanent, but the change would come with a significant trade-off for Chicago: Winter sunrises wouldn't arrive until after 8am.
- The U.S. House passed the Sunshine Protection Act in July, but the legislation has stalled in the Senate.
Context: The proposal, sponsored by Florida Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan, has drawn support from lawmakers who say more evening daylight would benefit tourism, outdoor recreation and businesses.
- In other words, more time for golf.
The latest: Trump, who made Florida his primary residence in 2019, has aggressively pushed for permanent daylight saving time, even criticizing Republican senators for failing to advance the legislation.
- Trump also argues that more evening sunlight would reduce violent crime and traffic accidents, improving public safety.
Yes, but: What's good for Florida isn't necessarily good for Illinois. In Chicago, those late sunrises raise concerns about children heading to school and commuters traveling to work in darkness.
Reality check: Permanent daylight saving time would keep clocks an hour ahead year-round, giving Chicago later sunsets but also later sunrises during winter.
- Permanent standard time would mean earlier sunrises but an hour less evening daylight during summer compared with today's system. The total amount of daylight wouldn't change.
What they're saying: "Our internal clocks are more strongly synchronized to environmental light than they are to social cues like the time of the clock on the wall," Northwestern Medicine sleep specialist Sabra Abbott tells Axios.
- Abbott says darker mornings and additional evening light could make it harder for people to fall asleep at night and wake up in the morning.
Between the lines: Florida wouldn't escape the darker mornings, either. Miami's winter sunrise would move past 8am under permanent daylight saving time.
- But Miami receives nearly 90 minutes more daylight than Chicago on the shortest day of the year, meaning Floridians would still enjoy considerably more evening sunshine.
The intrigue: Some Illinois lawmakers are already looking for an escape hatch from permanent daylight saving time. Bills introduced in Springfield would allow Illinois to adopt permanent standard time instead.
- The House-passed federal legislation would preserve an exemption for states that have already opted out before the law takes effect. Illinois has not done so, and its proposals remain stalled in committee.
Meanwhile: Illinois lawmakers have taken different approaches to the debate. Eleven of the state's 17 U.S. House members voted for permanent daylight saving time.
- Chicago-area Democrats Jan Schakowsky, Danny Davis, Sean Casten, Robin Kelly, Brad Schneider and Bill Foster supported the measure, while Mike Quigley, Chuy García and Delia Ramirez opposed it.
Flashback: Congress tried permanent daylight saving time in the 1970s, but abandoned the experiment early amid public backlash over dark winter mornings.
The bottom line: Americans may agree that changing clocks is annoying. But deciding which hours should get the sunlight is a much tougher question.
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