CHICAGO – Nearly 70 leaders in the state’s LGBTQIA+ community today announced their endorsement of Robin Kelly for United States Senate. A champion of the LGBTQIA+ community, Kelly is committed to advancing legislation in Congress that ensures all Illinoisans receive the same rights no matter who they are or who they love.
“I am proud to stand alongside this impressive and dedicated group of leaders in Illinois’s LGBTQIA+ community,” Kelly said. “Because of their commitment to equal rights, Illinois is a better and more just place, and I look forward to carrying out their work in the U.S. Senate.”
“We stand behind Robin Kelly because she has always stood with us,” Ald. Lamont Robinson, chair of the Chicago City Council’s LGBTQ caucus, said. “We have seen her fight, felt her passion for issues important to us and know her work for the LGBTQIA+ community is unparalleled. I personally experienced her resolve when she stood with me to save Mercy Hospital and the vital role it plays in my community. She is the clear choice in the race for the U.S. Senate.”
In Congress, Kelly was a co-sponsor of the Equality Act, prohibiting discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation and gender identity in public accommodation areas. Her priorities include retaining marriage equality, repealing the hateful ban on transgender service members, ending health disparities that continue to negatively impact the LGBTQIA+ community and supporting LGBTQIA+ students in the classroom and during after school activities.
The list of endorsements from the LGBTQIA+ community includes elected officials, CEO of the AIDS Foundation Chicago, business owners, advocates and supporters representing diverse backgrounds and corners of the state.
The full list of LGBTQIA+ endorsers includes:
Hon. Lori E. Lightfoot & Amy Eshleman
Hon. Sam Yingling & Lowell Jaffe
Hon. Bennett Lawson
Hon. Lamont Robinson
Hon. Alex Arroyo
Andrew Hamilton
Cleopatra Cowley
Gail Morse
Jacob Meister
Justin Koziatek
Kevin Kiser
Rocco Claps
Aimee A. Pine
Anthony Galloway
Sean Smith
Tom Segal
Wesley Hentges
Dr. Dan Lustig & Florencio Guereca
Dalila Fridi & Elizabeth McKnight
Jim Flint
Jaime Rivera Luna
John Litchfield & Joe Olszewski
Dr. Phil Neal
Adam Burns
Dr. Eric Lueshen
Hope Pickett
Ray J. Koenig III & Johnny Song
Brent Adams & Torrance Mebust
John Peller
Rita Alvarez & Kathy Fitzgerald
James Austin
Christine Grost
Cleo Downing
Ron & Bryan Andrews
Jaylin D. McClinton
Lynne Perryman
Bill Rossi
Angie & Kim Coderre
Colleen Egan
Dawn Valenti
Ro Supernaw
Richard Ewing
Bismoy Dasgupta
Doug Golub
Scott Steif
Clayton W. Terrill
Daniel Olson
Jose Rios
Ryan Vago
Gus Gustafson
Mark Duthu
Antonio King
John Ramon Otakan
Josh Schwartz
Quiana Ali-Page
Greg O’Neill
Joseph Pindelski
Jeff Soltero