If you weren’t able to join us the night of the Gala (or just want to enjoy it all again!), you can watch the event on YouTube HERE

#EIGala

#EIGala

While there is much to celebrate, I hope you will take note that we:

This past year we:

• • Provided over $100,000 in direct cash grants to downstate LGBTQ Illinoisans suffering the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis;
  • Connected over 10,000 LGBTQ Illinoisans with COVID resources through our Virtual Town Halls and our COVID-19 Resource Hub;
  • Introduced legislation which would require the teaching of LGBTQ-affirming sex-ed in schools;
  • Launched Illinois’ first ever single-day Pride including dozens of communities across the state;
  • Partnered with community groups and the State of Illinois to make government issued identity documents more inclusive and accessible for Trans and Gender Non-conforming Illinoisans.

There has been a beacon of change in the fight for LGBTQ people in Illinois this past year. We need to stay the course until every LGBTQ person has equal rights! We hope you will continue to partner with us going forward to help transform our state into the fully equal and accepting place we believe it can be.

We know the legislative process is fast moving and will involve thoughtful debates and substantive amendments.  We want to take the time to thank the Black Caucus for the reforms on the table, reforms that will make the lives of Black Illinoisans, including Black LGBTQ Illinoisans, better.  There is much to call out about these remarkable pieces of legislation.  We admire the robust criminal justice reforms, including limiting the use of force by police officers, safeguarding civilian’s rights through heightened accountability for police officers, and strengthening the Illinois Attorney General’s authority to take action against harmful police departments.  We honor the enhanced efforts to ensure educational equity, including the greater emphasis on restorative justice and the teaching of Black history in schools.  We appreciate the proposals to bring about greater economic equity, including a comprehensive approach to equitable economic development and an insistence on meeting equity goals in the state’s historic cannabis legalization law. And we honor the insistence that healthcare equity is only fully realized when healthcare providers are culturally competent and healthcare institutions are collecting the right information.

The Black Caucus agenda is a real opportunity to end systemic racism and build an Illinois that lives up to her values of equality, equity, fairness, justice, and opportunity.  As these bills move through the legislative process and onto the Governor’s desk, we call on all members to keep the spirit of equity and the courage to be bold at the center of the work.

Equality Illinois 30th Anniversary Gala Silent Auction is open! Register now for our silent auction and browse all of the exciting packages. The silent auction will remain open until the end of the Gala on February 6, 2021, 8PM Central time. If you are the winning bidder, your credit card will be automatically charged and you will be contacted by Monday, February 8, 2021 with information on how to obtain your silent auction package.

Called the “who’s who of Illinois politics” by ABC News, the Equality Illinois Annual Gala is one of the preeminent LGBTQ equality events in the country. This year’s historic virtual gala promises an evening of entertainment, fun, and nostalgia.