Issues

Equality Illinois Condemns Attempt to Undermine Ban on Conversion Therapy

Equality Illinois condemns the lawsuit filed by a small handful of pastors against Illinois’ law protecting LGBT youth from harmful conversion therapy. The Youth Mental Health Protection Act is based on scientific consensus. The law protects patients from harmful, coercive, and fraudulent treatments that attempt to change the unchangeable. Faith leaders remain free to say …

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Atty. Gen. Madigan Joins Brief Supporting Transgender Illinoisans

Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan today joined 12 other attorneys general throughout the U.S. in support of the Obama Administration’s policies that advance the equal treatment and protection of ‪‎transgender‬ Americans in workplaces and schools, a move applauded by Equality Illinois. “Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is standing firm for the equal rights of transgender …

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GOP Leaders Set Record by Blocking Nomination

Today, U.S. Senate Republicans set an ignominious record: They’ve allowed President Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court to linger for 126 days, longer than for any other nomination to the high court. When the Republicans announced their intention to prevent any consideration of Judge Garland last March, Equality Illinois said, “This …

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Chicago City Council Stands Up for Transgender People

The Chicago City Council stood up for the rights of transgender people Wednesday when it passed the Equal Access Ordinance, a measure supported by Equality Illinois that will ensure equal access consistent with a person’s gender identity in places of public accommodations in Chicago. The ordinance passed the 50-person council on a vote of 45-5, …

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Equality Illinois Calls for Hate and Terror to be Disarmed

Equality Illinois joins forces to demand that Congress make a start towards stronger protections against gun violence nationwide. “Any solutions to the problem of hate violence, including anti-LGBTQ violence, must address the alarmingly easy access that bigots have to such deadly weapons,” the letter, signed by more than 50 LGBTQ and gun anti-violence groups, says. …

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Chicago Leaders Protect Transgender Access to Facilities

A Chicago ordinance designed to protect the dignity and health of transgender and gender non-conforming people will be a clear rebuke to the actions in North Carolina and other states that want to turn back the clock. The ordinance was introduced Wednesday by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the City Council’s LGBT caucus at the recommendation …

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Gov. Rauner, Legislators Meet with Transgender Advocates

Advocates from Equality Illinois and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago–including a transgender university student and the mother of a transgender child–met with Gov. Bruce Rauner and legislators in Springfield to advance a pro-LGBT equality agenda during the spring session of the General Assembly. In a meeting in the Governor’s Office arranged by Equality Illinois, the …

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Equality Illinois Supports Transgender Student

The legal situation in Township High School District 211 regarding a transgender student’s equal right to access the school locker room that corresponds to her gender identity offers an opportunity for awareness and education about transgender people and the significant challenges and discrimination they encounter in life. The school district said it would allow the …

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‘I Am A Refugee’

Equality Illinois CEO Bernard Cherkasov issues the following statement in opposition to restrictions on refugees: I am a refugee. In 1989, at age 13, I fled anti-Semitic violence and hatred in my homeland of Azerbaijan. For several months, my family and I journeyed through Russia, Austria, and Italy without a permanent place to call home. …

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DIVERSITY & INCLUSION IN THE WORKPLACE

Your workplace may already be LGBT-friendly, but do you and your colleagues know how to share those values with all employees? Policy on paper is important but how can employers translate that into diversity trainings or conversation about sensitivity and inclusion? Join us on Wednesday, October 28 for a workshop on DIVERSITY & INCLUSION: Trainings, …

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LGBT History Month: Illinois Anti-Discrimination Law

LGBT History Month entry from January 21, 2005: This year marks ten years of anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Illinoisans! In January 2005, Equality Illinois advocated for and a bipartisan majority of state legislators and then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich approved the civil rights bill protecting LGBT Illinoisans from discrimination in the areas of …

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Equality Illinois Marriage Planning Guide

Now available: The Equality Illinois Marriage Planning Guide, 2015-2016 Edition Find that special venue, the right caterer, photographer, baker and florist, and the officiant who will make your wedding memorable. Also, learn about the Illinois marriage law and the Supreme Court ruling making ‪marriage equality‬ the law of the land. Click below to read and …

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