Still, Hayli stopped selling her lemonade. Word of Hayli’s shutdown spread, and it caught the attention of a county government official. Inspired by Hayli’s story, he drafted a bill, or a plan for a law, that would protect the right of kids who run lemonade stands. The bill landed on the desk of Illinois State Senator Patrick Joyce, who agreed to support it.
Joyce invited Hayli to speak in front of a committee of lawmakers on March 3, 2021. Hayli and her mom drove nearly three hours to the state capitol in Springfield, Illinois. They even brought samples of Hayli’s lemonade so that everyone there could taste it.
While Hayli was excited to get the chance to tell her story, she was also worried. She’d have to address a room full of representatives and senators. What if she said the wrong thing?
“I was so nervous that my voice started to quiver,” Hayli says. “I was talking extra fast and I was running out of breath!”
But then Hayli remembered who she was representing.
“I wanted to stick up for the little people, for boys and girls,” Hayli says.
Her speech was convincing, and the bill eventually passed in both parts of the Illinois General Assembly—the Senate and the House of Representatives. Last July, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the bill into law. On January 1, 2022, Hayli’s Law officially went into effect. It says the government can’t regulate or require a permit for lemonade stands run by kids under 16.
“I made history!” Hayli says.