Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich marked the two-year anniversary of the Illinois Human Rights Act, which protects Illinoisans from sexual-orientation and gender-identity discrimination.
“Discrimination of any kind is unacceptable. … We will continue our efforts to ensure fairness and equality in Illinois,” Blagojevich said in a statement.
In addition, The Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR), which enforces the act, will launch an awareness campaign with Equality Illinois and Lambda Legal to ensure LGBT communities know about the law and its protections. The three organizations will jointly conduct training seminars specifically for the LGBT community statewide, and will include information and links of each others’ Web sites.
Since the law went into effect Jan. 1, 2006, nearly 200 charges have been filed with the IDHR. For more info or complaint forms, visit www.state.il.us/dhr or call 312-814-6200.