Illinois voters are poised to reelect two LGBTQ+ incumbents to the state legislature this election.
State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (14th District) and State Sen. Mike Simmons (7th District) are both running unopposed in the race to keep their seats. They are the only two out LGBTQ+ elected officials in the state legislature.
Cassidy has held this role since 2011 and led efforts to ban conversion therapy, strengthen protections for those who have experienced hate crimes and protect reproductive rights. Simmons, who was appointed to the role in 2021 when former Senator Heather Steans retired, has helped pass laws protecting same-sex marriage, protecting nonbinary state employees and ensuring language in government communications is more inclusive.
In an interview with Windy City Times, Cassidy spoke about continuing her work to protect LGBTQ+ seniors, support the state’s goal of ending the HIV epidemic in Illinois in 2030 and strengthen reproductive rights in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s overturning.
Simmons’ campaign did not return requests for comment, but the state senator told Windy City Times in February during the primary election his goals include reducing LGBTQ+ health disparities, addressing housing insecurity and outlawing book banning, which targets LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized communities.
“I’m really proud that Mike Simmons and I have intentionality about being the only openly gay elected officials in the state legislature,” Cassidy said. “Because of that, I know I am very intentional about representing the LGBTQ+ community across the whole state.”
Part of that work includes protecting the most vulnerable people within the LGBTQ+ community, including its aging population, which needs affirming and appropriate senior housing, Cassidy said.
“How do we ensure that our community is safe in senior housing and nursing homes?” Cassidy said. “We hear nightmare stories still to this day, so finding policy and research solutions to that is huge.”
Protecting reproductive rights and abortion access in Illinois is also top of mind for Cassidy, who chairs the House’s Reproductive Health and Dobbs Decision Working Group, she said. Cassidy was involved in efforts to pass legislation shielding providers and patients who travel to Illinois for abortion access or gender-affirming care from being punished by other states.
“As we lose more access to care in other states, we’re going to see more people coming here, so I really want to make sure we’re addressing that, both in terms of remaining welcoming and providing support to people coming in, but also making sure we have the infrastructure to support organizations doing the work.”
Also in terms of healthcare, Cassidy is working to support the state’s Getting to Zero 2.0 plan, which aims to end the HIV epidemic in Illinois by 2030, she said.
Cassidy is the lead sponsor of the Testing and Linkage to Care Act, which is the AIDS Foundation of Chicago’s priority bill that would mandate insurers and Medicaid cover at-home test kits for STIs and HIV without cost-sharing, create eight pilot sites where people can get retroviral therapy within seven days of an HIV diagnosis and provide HIV/AIDS education in county jails. The bill is in the Senate now with state Sen. Lakeshia Collins as the sponsor.
“We’re looking at appropriate venues to make sure that we’re increasing access to testing and doing public education to have folks recognize that Getting to Zero is a realistic goal, and we’re going to do it,” Cassidy said.
Simmons has also told Windy City Times eliminating LGBTQ+ healthcare inequities is a priority of his.
“We see LGBTQ+ folks continue to be woefully underserved by our system, whether it’s accessing basic primary care and long-term mental health support,” Simmons previously said. “That’s a big problem, particularly for LGBTQ+ youth.”
The state senator also chairs the Senate Human Rights Committee, where he’s worked to protect the rights of LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized populations.
Simmons worked on the Let America Read Act, which would outlaw book banning and attempts to curtail classroom curriculum.
“We’ve seen that start to happen in Illinois,” Simmons said. “The Yorkville Board of Education, in August [2023], outlawed ‘Just Mercy’ by Bryan Stevenson, a Black author. There’s others who are targeting books about Black and LGBTQ+ communities, so the Let America Read Act is one of my top priorities.”
Additionally, Simmons passed the Jett Hawkins Act, which banned discrimination against ethnic hairstyles in schools, as one of his first initiatives as a senator.
”Sometimes we can get a little comfortable with the status quo, and that’s just unacceptable,” Simmons said.