June 21 marked the start of Chicago Pride Fest in Northalsted. But just six miles south in downtown Chicago, more than 200 people gathered for a different kind of Pride event—protesting the latest Supreme Court ruling.
“I saw a whole bunch of people heading north to Pride Fest and that’s great. We need our joy; we deserve our joy,” state Rep. Kelly Cassidy said to protestors at Federal Plaza.
Cassidy is one of the only out lesbians in the Illinois legislature. She urged that the fight for LGBTQ+ rights is far from over.
“You don’t get to take your wedding cake and go home, boys,” she said. “…They are not just coming for trans kids, they are not just coming for trans adults, they are not just coming for abortion rights. … You want to keep getting your PrEP? … Get your ass down to Federal Plaza—because they want to take that away too,” she said.
The protest was organized by Trans Up Front Illinois and co-sponsored by Lambda Legal, ACLU Illinois and over a dozen other LGBTQ+ organizations.
Evanston Mayor and U.S. House candidate Daniel Biss also spoke, saying he attended primarily as the father of a transgender child.
“The easiest thing I have ever done in my life is watch my children show me who they are and listen,” Biss said, describing seeing the weight that was lifted from his child after they were able to live as their authentic selves.
The Supreme Court’s decision in United States v Skrmetti, released June 18, upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for trans children. Trans organizations nationwide quickly denounced the ruling.
Keerthi Nan, a Chicago Public Schools teacher also spoke at the rally. As an educator who is also trans, she said she wears many hats—an advocate, an ally and a bridge. “If parents have questions or concerns—one of my favorite parts of my job is to be able to talk to them and help them understand,” she said.
Nan has roots in the south—Alabama and Georgia. In Alabama, medical providers can face felony charges for providing gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
“State administrators from Alabama and Georgia don’t want trans people in public life. They don’t want trans people to be teachers,” Nan said. Working with children, she sees firsthand the harm that’s being caused by the rhetoric fueling these policies.
“Yes, the policies [in Illinois] support trans kids,” she said. “But the way the kids actually are in our schools doesn’t mirror that.”
“Our trans kids, queer kids—they’re called slurs, they’re bullied,” she said. As protestors marched in downtown Chicago, they were met with many thumbs up and supportive shouts from passersby—some of them joining in on the march.
No laws exist in Illinois limiting transgender care, but recent moves by the Trump administration have threatened the state’s independence in allowing organizations to offer medical treatments.
After Trump’s Jan. 28 executive order, organizations in Chicago were threatened with funding cuts unless they stopped providing gender affirming care to minors.
Although federal judges have blocked the orders, organizations like Lurie’s Children’s Hospital preemptively cancelled gender-affirming surgeries. They have not resumed, but gender affirming treatments like hormone therapy and puberty blockers are still available.
“Even though here we’re a sanctuary state, we still stand with trans youth across the country,” said Asher McMaher, executive director of Trans Up Front Illinois.
