U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., has announced his decision to make his first co-sponsored bill in Congress the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 (LLEHCPA).
“We’ve come a long way in the last 20 years when it comes to equality,” said Quigley. “But we’ve still got a lot of work to live up to the idea that all Americans are created equal.”
The LLEHCPA will authorize the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute certain bias-motivated crimes based on the victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability.
As Cook County commissioner, Quigley initiated or help pass several pro-LGBT measures, including the one that created the Cook Country domestic partnership registry, which allows domestic partners to more easily secure benefits for one another.