Equality Illinois

Equality Illinois

Equality Illinois logo
U.S. State of Illinois
Founded	1991
Headquarters	Chicago, Illinois
Key people	Bernard Cherkasov, chief executive officer
Website	equalityillinois.org

Equality Illinois (EQIL) was founded in 1991 to secure, protect and defend equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people throughout Illinois.

Structure

The Equality Illinois Education Project focuses on the educational and charitable aspects of the mission. EQIL's initiatives extend throughout every sector of Illinois life, reaching individuals and organizations both in the LGBT community and society at large, across the private, public and non-profit sectors.

The Equality Illinois Political Action Committee (PAC) promotes candidates for public office who will advocate for and support legislation that advances full equality for LGBT individuals and families.

The organization is a member of the Equality Federation.^[1]

EQIL's Work

• Equality Illinois works with legislators in Washington, D.C. and in Springfield, as well as leaders at the local level to ensure that the LGBT community has a voice at the table when major decisions are made. Equality Illinois is a 501(c)(4) organization and has educational and political action affiliate organizations.^[2]
• The Equality Illinois Education Project, a 501(c)(3) educational organization affiliated with Equality Illinois, focuses on the educational and charitable aspects of EQIL's mission. Through the Equality Illinois Education Project, Equality Illinois continues to educate the public about the need to secure the rights of all Illinois citizens, couples, and families. EQIL's work reaches individuals and organizations both in the LGBT community and the general public across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors.^[3][4]
• Equality Illinois PAC, a non-partisan state political action committee affiliated with Equality Illinois, fights aggressively every election cycle to recruit, support, and elect candidates who will stand up for our rights in Springfield and beyond. Equality Illinois PAC supports candidates for state, county, and local office who believe that every citizen has a basic right to equal treatment under the law regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.^[5]

Equality Illinois Publications and Reports

• Marriage Rights in Illinois
• Equality Illinois DOMA FAQs
• Civil Union Report: Separate Not Proven to be Equal
• Name and Gender Marker Changes Tool Kit
• Raising the Bar 2013 Report of Law Firms Leading on LGBT Equality
• The Law Firm Best Practices Manual

Equality Illinois "Know Your Rights" Pamphlets

• Safe Schools
• Transgender Issues
• Employment
• Immigration
• Marriage Recognition at the Federal Level
• Health Services
• Housing

History and Past Achievements

Equality Illinois is the Midwest's largest and most influential LGBT civil rights organizations.^[6] Among its accomplishments are:

Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act

• Promoted, lobbied for and won passage of the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act in 2013, which gave same-sex couples in Illinois the right to marry.^[1]

Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act

• Promoted, lobbied for and won passage of the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act (civil union law) in 2010, which promises the same benefits, obligations and responsibilities of marriage (under state law). The major benefits include hospital visitation, healthcare decision making, inheritance and probate rights;^[7]

Safe Schools Act

• Worked in coalition with partner groups to advance and pass the Safe Schools Act, which was signed into law in June 2010;^[8]

Human Rights Act

• Promoted, lobbied for and won passage of amendments to the Human Rights Act in 2005, prohibiting discrimination based upon sexual orientation and gender identity;^[9]

Vote Naked Illinois

• Developed a ground breaking "Get Out the Vote" campaign, Vote Naked Illinois, which received extensive media coverage statewide and around the globe. The campaign led to over 75,000 mail-in votes in the 2010 election in Cook County/City of Chicago alone.^[10]
• Registered thousands of new Illinois voters, and developed a strong network of over 17,000 human rights supporters throughout Illinois and beyond;
• Educated and informed citizens of Illinois and members of the General Assembly, and worked to raise awareness of issues confronting LGBT individuals in the community and workplace;^[11]

Fair Illinois

• Equality Illinois also joined with three other organizations to launch the Fair Illinois initiative dedicated to opposing an anti-gay marriage advisory referendum proposed for the November 2006 ballot. This massive undertaking involve the review of more than 345,000 individual petition signatures, a challenge met entirely by volunteers. After months of challenges, fairness finally won out in September 2006.^[12]

Other Accomplishments

• Expanded statewide grassroots support for LGBT issues and initiatives, individually, as well as in partnership with religious institutions and other community organizations;
• Targeted information and services to populations that have been disenfranchised, such as women, minorities and youth;
• Assisted businesses in development of welcoming and inclusive workplace policies;^[13][14]
• Conducted polls and surveys of public attitudes on civil rights issues;^[15]
• Worked to educate the media and encourage public discussion about these issues.^[16]

^{[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]}

Illinois Unites for Marriage Coalition

In 2012-2013, Equality Illinois played a significant role advocating for same-sex marriage in Illinois. The organization partnered with Lambda Legal and ACLU of Illinois to create the Illinois Unites for Marriage coalition to push for the bill. The marriage equality bill passed the legislature in 2013 and was signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn on Nov. 20, 2013.

See also

• LGBT rights in Illinois
• LGBT history in Illinois
• Same-sex marriage in Illinois
• List of LGBT rights organizations

References

External links

Official website