Organizations Denounce Anti-Equality U.S. Supreme Court Candidates

On July 5, Equality Illinois, Planned Parenthood of Illinois, ACLU of Illinois, and Courts Matter Illinois called on U.S. senators to reject any of Trump’s dangerous anti-abortion candidates to the Supreme Court who would overturn Roe v. Wade, the historic case that legalized abortion in the United States, and roll back civil rights protections including LGBTQ, immigrant and voting rights.

“Federal courts have played critical roles in helping to advance the civil rights of LGBTQ people, including decriminalizing same-sex relationships, marriage equality, and protecting transgender students in schools. These rulings have recognized our shared American values of equality, dignity, and the freedom to be who we are without burden or discrimination,” said Michael Ziri, Director of Public Policy at Equality Illinois.

Ziri emphasized: “Opponents of equality want to transform the US Supreme Court and lower courts into instruments that would turn back the civil rights clock. With anti-equality forces being just one Supreme Court justice away from having that power, we call on our political leaders – including Senators Durbin and Duckworth and Governor Rauner – to take action and defend Illinois values.”

Chicago City Club Hosts First LGBTQ Presentation

The City Club of Chicago hosted a historic event on June 19, 2018, its first discussion of LGBTQ issues at this well-known and respected public forum, whose co-founder was Jane Addams.

Led by Equality Illinois CEO Brian C. Johnson, the panel featured Tracy Baim of Windy City Times, Kim L. Hunt of Pride Action Tank, David Ernesto Munar of Howard Brown Health, and trans resource navigator Reyna Ortiz.

The full program, Taking Pride in Our Story: Chicago and Its LGBTQ Community, can be watched here:

A report on the panel discussion was posted by Windy City Times.

TAKE ACTION: Tell Gov. Rauner to Protect All Workers

If you work for a business with 14 or fewer employees outside of Cook County, you can still be fired for being LGBTQ, a racial minority, a woman, or because of your faith.

That’s right. The Illinois Human Rights Act’s workplace non-discrimination protections only apply to businesses with 15 or more employees. And that leaves out thousands of businesses and their workers. Tell Gov. Rauner to protect these uncovered workers.

House Bill 4572, sponsored by state Rep. Will Guzzardi and state Sen. Cristina Castro, would apply workplace protections of the Illinois Human Rights Act to all businesses throughout the state. Click to tell Gov. Rauner to sign this bill.

Honor Them With Action

On the second anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Equality Illinois joins with our friends at Equality Florida to issue a call to #HonorThemWithAction.

Connect with organizations that take action to dismantle anti-LGBTQ violence, hatred, and discrimination. Help make your community and your state safer, better, and more equal.
There were 49 murdered and 53 injured in the shooting, most of them Latinx LGBTQ.

We will not forget.