Announcing: Transgender Illinoisans can begin working on the new state forms allowing them to correct the gender marker on birth certificates without requiring expensive and often unnecessary surgery, consistent with modern medical standards. The new law goes into effect Jan. 1, but the Illinois Department of Public Health forms are now online.
One form is for the doctor or mental health professional to fill out and the other is for the transgender or intersex person born in Illinois to complete.
The new law was a 2017 initiative of a coalition including Equality Illinois, the ACLU of Illinois, Illinois Safe Schools Alliance, Howard Brown Health, Lambda Legal, and AIDS Foundation of Chicago. It was sponsored by state Rep. Greg Harris of Chicago and state Sen. Toi Hutchinson of Olympia Fields and signed by Governor Bruce Rauner.