FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 13, 2026
Equality Illinois mourns the passing of Rick Garcia
CHICAGO - Equality Illinois mourns the passing of Rick Garcia, one of the co-founders of Equality Illinois and a towering figure in the fight for LGBTQ+ equality in Illinois and beyond.
Rick Garcia was a high-profile activist whose leadership helped bring to completion the final stage of a 15-year struggle to pass Chicago’s landmark 1988 ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. As the founding executive director of Equality Illinois, Rick helped shape the organization’s mission and vision, laying the groundwork for decades of advocacy that followed.
In the late 1980s, Rick was a member of the “Gang of Four,” a group of activists who led the successful effort to secure passage of Chicago’s anti-discrimination ordinance. He later turned his focus to county-level protections, playing a key role in shaping and lobbying for the Cook County Human Rights Ordinance, which was enacted in 1993.
“The fight for LGBTQ+ equality has always been carried forward by leaders who knew when to push hard and when to build bridges and Rick Garcia was one of those leaders. He was a fierce advocate in a pivotal era of our movement, unafraid to throw punches when our community was under attack and equally committed to coalition-building and lasting change.” Said Art Johnston, one of the co-founders of Equality Illinois.
Rick was also a principal founder of the Illinois Federation for Human Rights (renamed Equality Illinois in 2000), which grew to become the leading organizational voice for LGBTQ+ rights in the city and across the state. As executive director, he helped build local lobbying units throughout Illinois, worked directly with legislators, and appeared frequently in the media to advocate for comprehensive protections against discrimination.
"Rick Garcia was instrumental in advancing protections for LGBTQ+ people in Illinois, including his critical role in the effort to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the Illinois Human Rights Act in 2006, as well as helping lay the early groundwork for marriage equality in our state. His leadership helped shape Equality Illinois and the broader movement for decades. We honor Rick’s legacy by continuing the work he believed in so deeply and by ensuring that the torch he carried continues to light the way forward.” Said Myles Brady Davis, Equality Illinois' Director of Communications.
Nationally, Rick helped found the Federation of Statewide Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Political Organizations in cooperation with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, further extending his impact beyond Illinois.
A bridge-builder by nature, Rick forged alliances across political, religious, and community lines. Within Roman Catholic circles, he worked extensively on behalf of LGBTQ+ people of faith, and he collaborated with organizations such as Operation PUSH while engaging leaders from both major political parties in pursuit of justice and equality.
Rick’s activism began early. As a teenager in the 1970s, he was already organizing pioneering gay rights efforts in his hometown of St. Louis. After moving to Chicago, his leadership helped elevate LGBTQ+ organizing to new levels of visibility, credibility, and effectiveness.
Rick Garcia’s legacy lives on in the laws he helped pass, the organizations he helped build, and the countless lives made safer and more just because of his work. Equality Illinois honors his life, mourns his passing, and remains committed to carrying forward the vision he helped create.
“Rick Garcia was a founding leader of Equality Illinois whose courage and conviction helped shape the rights LGBTQ+ people have today across our state. His visionary leadership helped secure Chicago’s landmark anti-discrimination ordinance, and his legacy lives on in the laws he helped pass and the countless lives impacted by his work. His honesty, accountability, and deep love for community will continue to guide our movement. I am personally grateful for the lessons in leadership and responsibility he imparted to me, lessons that continue to ground me in my role as a leader. As a transgender woman of color now entrusted to lead this organization, I am proud to walk in the footsteps of a man of color who fought for trans lives and trans rights long before such advocacy was widely embraced. I owe him a profound debt of gratitude and a continued commitment to carry that work forward with integrity. His legacy will not be forgotten.” Said Channyn Lynne Parker, CEO of Equality Illinois.
# # #