Rep. Greg Harris • 13th District Springfield Update • April 18, 2022 End of Session Update/Budget Summary The Spring 2022 session of the 102nd General Assembly was a very productive one, including many milestone accomplishments to balance our State’s budget, increase our fiscal stability, expand healthcare access and affordability, invest in major increases in equity, […]
Legislative Accomplishments This Spring Session
June 8, 2021 By
Rep. Greg Harris • 13th District Springfield Update • June 8, 2021 Legislative Accomplishments This Spring Session The backlog legislation delayed by COVID and the continuing need to address disparities exposed by the pandemic guaranteed a busy and productive session down in Springfield this year. In addition to passing a balanced, responsible budget, the Illinois […]
Lincoln Square Rallies to Support Gay Couples Affected by Hate Graffiti
October 4, 2017 By
by Liz Baudler 2017-10-01 About 150 community members, many families with young children gathered Oct. 1 to protest against hate graffiti spray painted in the Lincoln Square area of Chicago’s Northwest Side.Community members met at Waters Elementary School, 4540 N. Campbell Ave., in front of a map of the Lincoln Square area. They were there […]
Bills on birth certificates and LGBT “panic” defense signed in Illinois
August 29, 2017 By
From Equality Illinois and ACLU: CHICAGO — Legislative sponsors, Equality Illinois and ACLU of Illinois celebrated the signing of House Bill 1785 today, modernizing the Illinois Vital Records Act and allowing transgender and intersex individuals to change the gender marker on their birth certificates without undergoing gender reassignment surgery. Illinois now joins 14 additional states, […]
Illinois House Passes Bill to Modernize State’s Birth Certificate Law
May 26, 2017 By
SPRINGFIELD — A measure to modernize Illinois law allowing people to change the gender marker on their birth certificate, House Bill 1785, passed the House by a vote of 63 to 43 on Thursday and was sent to the Senate. If the bill is signed into law, Illinois would join fourteen other states and the […]
Three ways to boost LGBTQ civil rights in Illinois
May 22, 2017 By
Sun-Times Editorial Board In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples had a fundamental right to marry. It was a major victory in the LGBTQ community’s long-standing fight for equality. But there is still a long way to go when it comes to gaining civil rights protections. Every day LGBTQ people face stigmas, […]
Illinois Issues: LGBT In The Time Of Trump
April 18, 2017 By
By MAUREEN FOERTSCH MCKINNEY & DAISY CONTRERAS Protesters in Chicago rally against the Trump administration’s rollback of protections for transgender students. EQUALITY ILLINOIS With rapid-fire changes to LGBT provisions at the federal level, advocates want to keep Illinois’ status as one of the leading states in offering protections. Alex McCray didn’t want to believe Donald […]
Harris reintroduces bill easing gender-marker change
February 2, 2017 By
by Matt Simonette 2017-02-01 Windy City Times State Rep. Greg Harris (D), on Feb. 1, re-introduced legislation allowing transgender Illinoisans to more easily change the gender-marker on their birth certificate. While the state has allowed for changing gender-markers since the ’50s, current law requires the applicant to show proof that they have undergone gender-reassignment surgery, […]
Orr, marriage backers anticipate 10,000 same-sex licenses
August 30, 2016 By
by Matt Simonette 2016-08-29 Windy City Times Just as attorney John Knight, of ACLU of Illinois, finished speaking at an Aug. 29 press conference heralding the 10,000th marriage license distributed to a same-sex couple in Cook County, County Clerk David Orr said, “I now forgive you for suing me.” While Orr was joking, his remark […]
Trans birth certificate bill to go to IL House floor
April 5, 2016 By
by Matt Simonette 2016-04-05 The House Human Services Committee, on April 5, passed a bill 8-6 that would allow transgender Illinoisans to more easily change the gender marker on their birth certificates. The bill now moves to the House floor. HB 6073, introduced in February by openly gay state Rep. Greg Harris, allows a […]