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Biden and Harris are inaugurated; Biden signs LGBTQ executive order
Democrat Joe Biden was sworn in Jan. 20 as the next president of the United States, ushering in a much-improved political climate for LGBT people and, many might say, the nation. In one of his first ...
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Biden, Harris inaugurated, leaders comment
--From press releases. Come back for additional statements
Planned Parenthood Illinois: Statement attributed to Jennifer Welch, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Illinois Action: As the eyes of the world turn from the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol two weeks ago to today's inauguration ...
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City Hall, Cook County Building closed Jan. 20 for safety reasons
Chicago's City Hall (121 N. LaSalle St.) and the Cook County Building (118 N. Clark St.) will be closed to the public Wed., Jan. 20 as a precautionary step to ensure public safety on Inauguration Day, ...
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National COVID-19 Memorial Service Jan. 19 to remember lives lost
CHICAGO, IL— Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and the City of Chicago, in partnership with the incoming Biden-Harris Administration, invite everyone in Chicago to take part in the National COVID-19 Memorial Service to remember the lives lost ...
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Steans resigns from Illinois Senate; tenure marked by advances in women's, LGBTQ rights
--From a press release
State Senator Heather Steans (D-Chicago) today announced her resignation after 12 years of service, declaring "it's time for fresh faces and new energy" in Springfield. "It's been the privilege of a lifetime to represent the most ...
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Biden nominates Dr. Rachel Levine, first trans person nominated for Senate-confirmed position
--From press releases
From Victory Institute: Washington, DC — President-elect Joe Biden nominated Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine to be the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Health — a historic nomination that makes her the first out trans ...
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Biden picks transgender assistant health secretary
President-elect Joe Biden has chosen Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to be his assistant secretary of health—positioning her to become the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, a Seattle Times ...
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Lightfoot and city leaders lead MLK interfaith event
Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot virtually gathered with civic, business and religious leaders this weekend to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the City of Chicago's 35th Annual Interfaith Celebration. This year's ceremony ...
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WORLD Global Fund, Croatian case, Poland items, Hillsong
In 2020, the Global Fund signed 157 grants for a total of $8.54 billion for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria programs and to strengthen systems for health—and this is the highest number of grants the program ever ...
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NATIONAL Defamation case, inauguration items, PrEP, Capitol riot
A New York appeals court ruled that falsely accusing someone of being gay is no longer considered defamation per se, NBC News reported. Defamation is a false statement that damages someone's reputation. "It meant that it ...
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COVID-19 Three regions to end Tier 3 mitigations; IRA responds to dining changes
Following a decrease in COVID-19 test positivity rates and hospitalizations throughout Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker announced regions across the state are now eligible to move out of Tier 3 mitigations—the ...
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Gov. Pritzker activates Illinois National Guard for security of state buildings
SPRINGFIELD — Governor JB Pritzker has activated 250 members of the Illinois National Guard for State Active Duty in response to the warnings issued this week by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) regarding threats to ...
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Research on military trans ban shows urgency of Biden acting on pledge
--From a press release by The Palm Center
President-elect Joseph Biden has promised to reverse the military's ban on service by transgender Americans on "day one" of his presidency. Research recently released by the Palm Center explains why lifting the ban is an urgent ...
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Gov. Pritzker releases statement on impeachment of President Trump
--From a press release
Springfield — Governor JB Pritzker issued the following statement following the second impeachment of President Trump. "For the first time in United States history, a sitting President has been impeached on two separate occasions by the ...
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40+ national LGBTQ and movement leaders call for removal of President
--From a GLAAD press release
GLAAD and more than 40 national LGBTQ and movement leaders have signed onto a statement calling for the removal of Pres. Trump from office: "Our nation's security and the personal security of every American is in ...
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U.S. House votes to impeach Trump again
On Jan. 13, a majority of the U.S. House has voted to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time. Trump would be the first U.S. president to be impeached twice. This development occurred a week ...
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Welch set to be new Illinois House speaker, ending Madigan era
State Rep. Emanuel "Chris" Welch is positioned to become Illinois' speaker of the House, ending Mike Madigan's decades-long occupation of that role, The Chicago Tribune reported. Welch will also be the state's first Black speaker ...
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State Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch elected Speaker of Illinois House, leaders respond
--From press releases
Statement from Equality Illinois CEO Brian C. Johnson on the election of State Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch as Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 102nd General Assembly: "Equality Illinois congratulates Rep. Welch on ...
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Illinois legislature passes bill ending money bond
--From a press release by The Coalition to End Money Bond
Since 2016, communities across Illinois have been rigorously organizing to end money bond. Today, after years of work by the Coalition to End Money Bond and Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice, the state's legislature has voted in ...
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Kim Foxx names new chief of staff and policy
Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx has appointed Alyson Miller to the hybrid role of chief of staff and policy. Miller will assume this newly created position later this month, when Foxx's current chief of staff, Jennifer Ballard Croft, leaves ...
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Choucair part of Biden/Harris COVID-19 response team
Dr. Bechara Choucair—the senior vice president and chief health officer at Kaiser Permanente, and onetime commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health—is part of new President Joe Biden and ...
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Mayor Lightfoot, DCASE announce $2.5M in arts grants
--From a press release
CHICAGO, IL — Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) today announced $2.5 million in funding opportunities for Chicago artists and arts organizations. A new "Artist Response Program," ...
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Madigan suspends bid for another term as House speaker
Embattled Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan announced Jan. 11 that he was suspending his bid for another term leading the chamber—but is not withdrawing from the race, The Chicago Tribune reported. Madigan fell nine votes short ...
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WORLD Greece appointee, India trans items, top LGBTQ issues
The center-right government of Greece announced the country's first out minister, out.com reported. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis appointed Nicholas Yatromanolakis as the new deputy minister of culture. The 44-year-old native ...
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Calif. court blocks Trump administration's asylum rule
In response to a request from Immigration Equality, Lambda Legal, and Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order on Jan. 8 blocking, in its ...
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Trump to skip Biden's Jan. 20 inauguration
Outgoing President Donald Trump conveyed on social media that he will not be attending new President Joe Biden's inauguration. "To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January ...
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National LGBTQ organizations call for Trump's removal from office
--From a press release
New York, NY - Thursday, Jan. 7, 2020 - GLAAD, the world's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, along with leading LGBTQ legal, health, youth, justice and equality organizations, is callin ...
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STATE/LOCAL POLITICS Congresswoman invokes Hitler; former alderman reports to jail
U.S. Rep. Mary Miller (R-Illinois) is facing criticism for her comments about Adolf Hitler during a rally, WGN-TV reported. Miller made the remark at a Jan. 5 rally that the conservative group Moms of America hosted. ...
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NCLR joins call for removal and impeachment of President Trump
--From a press release
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — After witnessing President Trump's role in instigating the violence that took place in Washington, D.C. yesterday, NCLR joins the growing bipartisan call for removal and impeachment of the president in order to ...
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LGBTQ task force wants 25th Amendment used to remove Trump
On Jan. 6, the National LGBTQ Task Force and National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund issued a press release for the immediate removal of outgoing President Donald Trump under the 25th Article. The release read, in ...
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Democrats take control of the U.S. Senate
A look at the numbers in the Jan. 5 U.S. Senate races in Georgia indicate that Democrats have won control of the Senate—a development with enormous favorable consequences for the LGBT community and the nation. As ...
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Congress finalizes Biden's win after Capitol is stormed
After an extraordinary day in which supporters of outgoing Republican President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, Congress was finally able to finalize Democratic President-elect Joe Biden's win. Vice President ...
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National Minority AIDS Council responds to attack on U.S. Capitol
Jan. 6, 2021 - National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) Executive Director Paul Kawata has released the following statement on today's attack on the U.S. Capitol. "NMAC is completely saddened, sickened, and in total shock over the riots at the U.S. ...
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Report: In four years, judicial landscape has become more anti-LGBTQ+
Washington, D.C. — In just four years, President Trump has ushered in a judicial landscape that is significantly more hostile toward LGBTQ+ people, with nearly 40% of Trump's confirmed federal appellate judges having demonstrated anti-LGBTQ+ bia ...
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Equality Illinois gala's silent auction now open
Equality Illinois announced that its 30th-Anniversary Gala silent auction is now open. The silent auction will remain open until the end of the gala on Saturday, Feb. 6, at 8 p.m. CT. Winning bidders' credit cards ...
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WORLD Workplace index, Japan survey, stories of the year, Buttigieg
Two years after the India's Supreme Court decriminalized homosexuality, employment for the LGBTQ community is slowly gaining acceptance in the private sector—to the point where there is now an India Workplace Equality Index, RFI.fr reported. The ...
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Pelosi narrowly re-elected House speaker
On Jan. 3, Nancy Pelosi was narrowly re-elected speaker of the U.S. House, as she again leads the Democrats' slender majority, media outlets reported. After serving for 17 years in charge of the House Democrats, Pelosi ...
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City officials send letter to Lightfoot regarding schools reopening
On Jan. 3, more than 30 members of the 50-member Chicago City Council sent a letter to Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson regarding concerns about Chicago Public Schools' reopening plans amidst ...
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Legislators partner with Chicago group for trans women's funeral expenses
Several LGBTQ and allied legislators are partnering with Chicago-based trans organization Brave Space Alliance (BSA) to establish a dedicated fund to support the funeral expenses of local trans women who have been murdered. The lawmakers are ...
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State Rep. Yoni Pizer leaves post early, citing early insurance termination
Illinois state Rep. Yoni Pizer (D-12th District) issued a letter stating that he would retire Dec. 31 "because of the State's policy to effectively terminate health insurance for me and my family on 12/31/20, even though ...
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Former Chicago alderman charged after crashing into eight cars
Former Ald. Proco "Joe" Moreno was charged with DUI and reckless driving after his Audi rammed and sideswiped at least eight cars in the Gold Coast before smashing into a tree Dec. 27, The Chicago Tribune ...
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WORLD Lithuania outlook, HIV/AIDS and COVID, lawyer arrested, trans youth
Lithuania appears set to legalize same-sex civil partnerships next year, but same-sex marriage could be up to a decade away, according to Tomas Raskevicius—the country's only openly LGBT+ lawmaker, Reuters reported. "We're going to submit t ...
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Cook County to recognize Juneteenth as paid holiday
Cook County is recognizing Juneteenth as an official holiday and a paid day off for county workers, ABC 7 Chicago reported. Juneteenth—which marks the June day in 1865 that Union soldiers told enslaved African Americans in ...
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LGBTQ leader Raghavan to serve as Deputy Director, Office of Presidential Personnel
--From a LGBTQ Victory Institute press release
Washington, DC — President-elect Joe Biden appointed out LGBTQ leader Gautam Raghavan to serve as Deputy Director of the Office of Presidential Personnel — a position key to identifying, recruiting and vetting the more than 4,000 ...
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Judge issues pro-diversity federal workplace ruling
On Dec. 22, U.S. District Court Judge Beth Labson Freeman issued a nationwide preliminary injunction barring the Trump administration from implementing an executive order that bars federal contractors and grantees ...
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Lambda Legal, others challenge Trump administration's asylum rule
Lambda Legal, Immigration Equality and co-counsel Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP filed a federal lawsuit, Immigration Equality v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, challenging the Trump administration's recently published ...
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Lightfoot appoints new corporation counsel in wake of police raid fallout
Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot announced Dec. 21 that Celia Meza will serve as acting corporation counsel, effective immediately. Meza is the first Latina to ever hold this position. In her current role as mayor's counsel and ...
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Top 10 stories of 2020
In 2020, the nation faced two existential threats: an out-of-control coronavirus pandemic that killed more than 300,000 people in the United States in less than a year and an erratic, self-obsessed Republican president whose administration withheld ...
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WORLD Gender-identity studies, religion items, Hungary's ban
Romania's Constitutional Court overturned a ban on gender-identity studies voted through by lawmakers but which rights groups and universities said would infringe on human rights and fuel discrimination, Openly News ...
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AIDS Garden Chicago installation update coming Dec. 21
CHICAGO — On Monday, Dec. 21 at 11 a.m., 12th District State Representative Yoni Pizer will be hosting a virtual town hall with fellow elected officials, community partners, and project managers to provide a progress report ...
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Pennycuff Memorial Apartments now open
The John Pennycuff Memorial Apartments at Castillo Plaza is named for the late LGBTQ and civil rights activist, John Pennycuff. Located on Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood, the building was designed by Cyrus Subawalla ...
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International LGBTI Assn reports on criminalization, 69 countries have bans
--From a press release
Geneva, 15 Dec. 2020 — Despite considerable progress in legal protection for lesbian, gay and bisexual people, 69 UN member States continue to criminalise consensual same-sex activity, ILGA World (The ...
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Reports: Biden asks Buttigieg to be transportation secretary
President-elect Joe Biden has reportedly tapped Pete Buttigieg to lead the U.S. Transportation Department, Reuters reported. The appointment of Buttigieg, 38—who competed in the Democratic presidential primary—is another step in ...
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Biden to name Buttigieg Sec. Transportation, first open LGBTQ+ Cabinet Secretary
--From press releases
President-elect Joe Biden is expected to nominate Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and Democratic candidate for president, to serve as the next Secretary of Transportation. ...
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Surprise Grammy-winning artist to perform at Equality Illinois gala
A surprise Grammy-winning artist is slated to perform at the Equality Illinois 30th-anniversary gala on Feb. 6, 2021. The event is annually attended by hundreds of movers and shakers within the LGBTQA community. To find out ...
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Kim Foxx reverses convictions tied to corrupt former police sergeant
Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's team formally presented motions to vacate the convictions of six individuals as part of the office's ongoing review of the misconduct of corrupt former Chicago Police Sergeant Ronald Watts. Via ...
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Electoral College officially declares Joe Biden president
California's 55 electors put Joe Biden over the 270 Electoral College votes needed to become president on Dec. 14, affirming Biden's election as the 46th president of the United States. Electors for all 50 states and ...
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Robinson and Buttigieg discuss local politics
Activist Chasten Buttigieg joined state Rep. Lamont Robinson for an online conversation about the political life of the LGBTQ community Dec. 9. The event, which was moderated by Brian Johnson, CEO of the Equality Illinois LGBTQ ...
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NATIONAL Federal rule, anti-LGBTQ crimes, restroom case, Karamo
The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs announced a final rule that dramatically expands the ability of federal contractors to claim religious exemptions from federal nondiscrimination ...
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WORLD: Bhutan's pro-gay move, LGBTQ+ refugees, official comes out
A joint sitting of both houses of Bhutan's parliament approved a bill to legalize gay sex, making the tiny Himalayan kingdom the latest Asian nation to take steps toward easing restrictions on same-sex relationships, Reuters reported. ...
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U.S. Supreme Court rejects Texas' bid to overturn election results
On Dec. 11, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an attempt by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton—which outgoing President Donald Trump backed—to block the ballots of millions of voters in battleground states that went in favor of ...
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Kim Foxx names women to leadership roles
On the heels of her swearing-in for her second term as Cook County state's attorney, Kim Foxx announced key leadership roles within her office: Jennifer Coleman, first assistant state's attorney; Risa Lanier, chief deputy state's attorney; ...
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Biden considering Buttigieg for high-profile ambassadorship
Axios reported that President-elect Joe Biden is considering a high-profile ambassadorship for former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg—possibly sending him to China. The outlet stated that Buttigieg—the openly gay 38-year-old former ...
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Lamont Robinson fundraiser with Chasten Buttigieg on Dec. 9
Lamont Robinson, Jr.—a Chicago business owner and insurance agent who became the first openly gay Black state legislator in Illinois history, and who is running for a second term representing the 5th District in the Illinois ...
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334 out LGBTQ candidates won elected office in 2020; most of any election year
--From a press release
Washington, DC — More openly LGBTQ candidates won elected office in 2020 than in any other election year in United States history. As of today, a total of 334 out LGBTQ candidates won their races out ...
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WORLD Dutch apology, Swiss gov't, Victory Institute, 'Queer Japan'
The Dutch government issued a formal apology to transgender and intersex citizens who were required to undergo sterilization surgeries to legally change their gender and agreed to compensate some of those who underwent the procedures, The ...
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NATIONAL Trans deaths, Elizabeth Taylor, Kamala's successor
Chae'Meshia Simms, a Black transgender woman, was killed in Richmond, Virginia, advocate.com reported, citing The Richmond Times-Dispatch. Simms's body was found in a car that had crashed into a garage Nov. 23; she had suffered a ...
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Harmon to continue to lead state Senate Democrats
Illinois Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) will continue to lead the chamber next year, WSILTV.com reported. Illinois Senate Democrats caucused virtually Dec. 3 to discuss the upcoming session and hold their leadership election. The caucus ...
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LGBTQ Victory Fund celebrates Sean Patrick Maloney's election to DCCC Chair
--From a press release
Washington, DC — Today LGBTQ Victory Fund, the only national organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ people to public office, celebrated the election of U.S. Representative Sean Patrick Maloney to serve as the next chair of the ...
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HRC report: Cities, not states, lead charge for LGBTQ+ protections
A report from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) shows that cities continue to lead the way on equality, even in times of national crisis and absent state and federal leadership. The organization's Municipal Equality Index (MEI) ...
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Prominent lesbians of color will join Biden administration
Two prominent lesbians of color have been appointed to major roles in President-elect Joe Biden's communications department, the transition team announced in a news release November 29. Karine Jean-Pierre, who served as a Biden senior adviser ...
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NATIONAL Guv tests positive, lawsuits
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis tweeted that he and First Gentleman Marlon Reis have tested positive for COVID-19, The Denver Post reported. Polis said he will work remotely and "continue to fulfill his duties and responsibilities." Polis ...
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WORLD German soldiers, UK HIV rates, OutRight, Chopin
Chancellor Angela Merkel's government agreed on a draft bill that would compensate gay soldiers who faced discrimination in the armed forces between 1955 and 2000, TheLocal.de reported. Under the proposed law, which needs to be approved ...
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Chicago's pandemic budget passes
On Nov. 24, The Chicago City Council passed the city's 2021 pandemic budget. According to a media release, "The $12.8 billion budget was built in close collaboration with City Council members, labor partners and other key ...
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Cook County budget unanimously passes
On Nov. 24, the Cook County Board of Commissioners approved a balanced $6.94-billion FY2021 budget aimed at advancing Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle's work on criminal justice reform, public ...
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