Equality Illinois wishes you a happy, healthy, safe and equal 2017. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. suggested, we acknowledge our disappointments as the new year begins, but we never lose our hope, which is fueled by our determination to fight for our rights.
Equality Illinois CEO Brian C. Johnson writes in a column in The Chicago Sun-Times that “we will resist at every turn” promised attempts by incoming Trump administration officials and the Republican majorities in Congress to roll back LGBTQ rights. “While the threat of immediate and far reaching policy shifts suggest darker years for the LGBTQ …
We can’t sugarcoat this. Anti-discrimination gains LGBTQ people made during the Obama Administration, in both Illinois and nationwide, are now in peril of being wiped away by the Trump-Pence Administration and Congressional Republicans. We intend to be vigilant and fight back, and that is going to take champions like you to support Equality Illinois with …
Chicago Human Relations Commissioner Mona Noriega and Personal PAC CEO Terry Cosgrove will be the 2017 recipients of the Equality Illinois Freedom Award for their lifelong commitment to fighting for the civil rights and personal freedoms of all Illinoisans, the organization announced Monday. The recognition will be made at the Equality Illinois 2017 Gala, …
Equality Illinois will be adopting a new strategic plan effective July 1, 2017 that will outline our civil rights agenda for the upcoming 4 years. In order to make sure our agenda is most reflective of the diverse viewpoints of the LGBTQ and allied community in Illinois, we need your input. Please take a few …
Please join Equality Illinois and the Legal Council for Health Justice for the first night of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH in Chicago on March 7! Tickets are limited and are nonrefundable. For those who purchase Premium Orchestra VIP and Orchestra VIP tickets, you also receive access to a cocktail reception. Your ticket purchase directly …
Donate on Giving Tuesday to ensure that the fight for true lived equality will continue UNTIL WE’RE ALL EQUAL! Feeling excited and empowered after more than 200 LGBTQ stakeholders and allies came together on Monday night for a Post-Election Action Forum to discuss how to react to the Trump-Pence administration, we are determined to be …
On Giving Tuesday, help keep the Trump-Pence administration in check Read More »
Equality Illinois wishes you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving, as we also look ahead to the challenging work we must do together in Illinois and throughout the U.S. to make sure everyone has a place at the table.
This Sunday we pause for the Transgender Day of Remembrance. We memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The day is also a statement that we as a community must recommit ourselves to the fight against transphobia. The disheartening list of people who lost their lives in 2016 can be found …
For its dedication to improving the lives of LGBTQ Illinoisans, Equality Illinois will honor the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago with its Business Leadership Award. The recognition will be made at the Equality Illinois 2017 Gala, the Midwest’s largest LGBTQ formal celebration, to be held on Saturday, February 4, 2017 at …
Equality Illinois Honors Lurie Children’s Hospital Read More »
Announcing the POST-ELECTION ACTION FORUM-An LGBTQ response to the Trump presidency Join us on Monday, Nov. 28 to: 1. Discuss the protections that are at risk for LGBTQ Americans 2. Learn how the LGBTQ community and other groups are responding 3. Find opportunities to take action and volunteer Event Co-Sponsors: Equality Illinois, Lake View Presbyterian …
The results of the 2016 election were devastating to so many Americans. We in the LGBTQ community know that if we do not stand up for other historically marginalized groups when they are attacked, we will have no one left to stand up for us when we are attacked. That is why we are calling …
It’s Election Day in Illinois. Here, our progress is the result of our victories at the ballot box. That’s why, when you vote today, it’s important to support every candidate in your community who champions the LGBTQ community. Your voting location is open until 7 p.m. Don’t know where to vote? Find out HERE. Don’t …
An election message from CEO Brian C. Johnson 314 votes. That’s it. Rep. Mike Smiddy won re-election in 2014 by only 314 votes. In November 2013, when Rep. Smiddy–who hails from tiny Hillsdale (population 588)–was a freshman legislator in the Illinois House, he voted for marriage equality. In a western Illinois district where the …
Early voting continues this weekend in many locations throughout Illinois. If not this weekend, vote early during the week. And you can register and vote, too. It’s easy. Our CEO Brian C. Johnson, Director of Education and Outreach Anthony Galloway, and Director of Development Eric Wilkerson have already voted early. And President Obama, too! Your …
Women Demand Respect RallyICYMI – Representing Equality Illinois, our Jessica Peters joined a Women Demand Respect rally across from Chicago’s Trump Tower on Thursday to speak out against the anti-women rhetoric and attitudes of the Trump-Pence ticket. #womenspeak Jessica joined advocates from UNITE HERE Local 1, Planned Parenthood Illinois Action, Chicago Women Take Action, Grassroots …
We are excited to announce the Equality Illinois 2017 Gala on February 4, 2017 at the Hilton Chicago. The Midwest’s largest LGBTQ gala and fundraiser supports the work of Equality Illinois. The Equality Illinois 2017 Gala is a celebratory winterfest of the accomplishments that advanced LGBTQ rights over the last year and a gathering of …
As part of our commitment to an ongoing dialogue with stakeholders across Illinois, Equality Illinois launched the Community Advisory Group in 2016. The group is a diverse cross-section of voices from across Illinois that informs the policy positions and initiatives we adopt and pursue in our work to secure and defend the equal and inclusive rights …
In the first months of the tenure of new Equality Illinois CEO Brian C. Johnson, he’s been on a listening tour throughout Illinois, in big cities, college towns and small hamlets, to listen to LGBTQ stakeholders, to hear your stories, and learn about your hopes and fears for the future. Today, he is publishing his …
Equality Illinois is honored to have received with Kirkland & Ellis LLP the Impact Award from the TrustLaw Foundation, the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s global pro bono legal program. The award celebrates our partnership with the law firm on legal research that informed our advocacy for legislation sponsored by Rep. Kelly Cassidy & Sen. Daniel Biss …
Equality Illinois and Kirkland & Ellis Recognized for Legal Work Read More »
The Equality Illinois PAC announces endorsements of 51 candidates, including Susana A. Mendoza for Illinois State Comptroller and state legislative candidates, in the general election on November 8, 2016. “The opponents of LGBT equality and inclusion are determined to stop progress towards full equality,” said Brian C. Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois. “We must be …
This is the final stretch until voting begins in the all-important 2016 election for president, U.S. Senate, Congress, the Illinois General Assembly and other races. Are you ready? Passage of the state ban on conversion therapy. The end of “don’t ask, don’t tell” in the military. The Obama Administration executive order banning LGBT discrimination by …
On Labor Day 2016, Equality Illinois celebrates the workers who thrive in LGBT-welcoming jobs as we recommit to fight for the federal Equality Act in Congress so that our labor is respected and protected in all workplaces throughout the nation.
The marriage license for the 10,000th same-sex wedding in Cook County should be issued today or tomorrow. At a celebration hosted by Cook County Clerk David Orr, Equality Illinois CEO Brian C. Johnson, who with his husband Toby were the 9,191st same-sex couple to be wed here, said that they were part of the last …