Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed an executive order to protect residents in his state from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s controversial autism database.

Pritzker’s order responds to federal efforts under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to create databases of personal information for those with autism “without clear legal

“Autism is a neurological difference—not a disease or an epidemic,” Pritzker’s order read. “People with disabilities, including individuals with autism, are too often stigmatized and underestimated, and public policy should never diminish the diverse strengths and potential of this community.”