Clock Change Weekend: What Happens If Illinois Stops Doing It?

((Before we get into what would happen if Illinois said "enough!" and got rid of the twice-per-year changing of our clocks, either forward or backward, please keep in mind that we have not done that yet, so you've got to change your clocks an hour ahead this Sunday morning at 2am.))

President Donald Trump has made no secret of the fact that he doesn't like the whole spring forward/fall back thing, and he has let it be known that his administration will go to work on getting rid of Daylight Saving Time, and eliminate the need for Americans (most of us, anyway) to go through that changing routine that polls say we hate with a passion.

In A Totally Un-Scientific Poll That I Took In The Hallways Here At Work, Eight Out Of The Ten People I Talked To About This Were Very Much In Favor Of Getting Rid Of Time Changes

Just imagine setting your clock once (when you buy it and put it where you want it) and then never having to think about it again unless there's some sort of power outage or the batteries go dead. Think about it...no springing forward or falling back unless you're describing your reclining chair.

To quote the Beach Boys, wouldn't that be nice?

I guess one thing would be certain if we stopped changing our clocks twice a year here in Illinois: We'd have one (or two, if you count two clock changes) less thing to complain about in this state. A move like that will cut our list of complaints down to things like:

• Corruption
• High taxes on property, gas, income, etc.
• Outbound migration
• Crime
• Bad roads and bridges
• Billionaires demanding that the public pay for their new stadium

There are more Illinois-centric complaints that I could add to the list, but that would take up all the space I have, and this was supposed to be about what would happen if we stopped changing our clocks twice a year. Sorry, I got sidetracked.

To Properly Answer The Question Of What Would Happen If Illinois Stopped Changing Our Clocks, We Have To Look At Some Numbers

When we last sprang forward on March 10th of last year, the first thing you may have noticed at the time is that the sun began rising later.. On March 9th, sunrise was at 6:12am. On March 10th, the day we moved our clocks forward, sunrise was at 7:10am.

On March 9th, sunset was 5:51pm, on March 10th it was 6:52pm. When spring turns to summer, we'll see sunrises as early as 5:15am, and sunsets as late as 8:30pm. That's what our daylight periods would look like year round if we adopted permanent Daylight Saving Time (DST).

If we stayed on DST year round here in Illinois, wintertime sunrises would come after 8am, but the sun would never set before 5pm. For some, that sounds great, but many health care professionals are against permanent DST.

If Illinois Stopped Changing Clocks And Stuck With Permanent Standard Time...

In Illinois during the summer, we'd be looking at sunrises as early as 4:15am, and the latest sunset time coming in at 7:30pm.

Here's the thing. Most everyone really likes a late sunset, but that's really the only thing permanent DST would provide that's worthwhile.

You don't have to take my word for it, here's what the American Medical Association has to say about clock changing, and whether DST or Standard time is the best choice:

In a position statement published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) is unequivocal in advocating elimination of daylight saving time, the practice of setting clocks ahead one hour between mid-March and early November.

“The U.S. should eliminate seasonal time changes in favor of a national, fixed, year-round time,” says the position statement, adding that “current evidence best supports the adoption of year-round standard time, which aligns best with human circadian biology and provides distinct benefits for public health and safety.”