HR0442 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0442 LRB101 12690 ALS 61340 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to commend Equality Illinois and its mission to build a better Illinois by advancing equal treatment and full acceptance of the LGBTQ community; and

WHEREAS, Equality Illinois was founded as the Illinois Federation for Human Rights by Arthur Johnston, Rick Garcia, and the late Jon Henri Damski and Lana Hostetler in 1991; its mission was to secure, protect, and defend the basic civil rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, and questioning transgender (LGBTQ) Illinoisans; the organization's name was changed to Equality Illinois in 2000; and

WHEREAS, Equality Illinois envisions a fair and unified State where everyone is treated with dignity and respect and where all people live freely regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity or gender expression; and

WHEREAS, Equality Illinois achieved a benchmark victory with the passage of an amendment adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the Illinois Human Rights Act in 2005; that same year, the organization was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame; and

WHEREAS, Equality Illinois was instrumental in securing passage of the civil union law in Illinois in 2010; members of the organization traveled across the State to collect over 30,000 postcards from supporters urging their legislators to support the marriage bill in all 118 legislative districts; the organization made history by passing the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act out of the General Assembly and onto then Governor Pat Quinn's desk, making Illinois the 16th state to secure freedom to marry; and

WHEREAS, Equality Illinois engaged hundreds of new voters and ensured accurate voter registration during election cycles; the organization created the innovative Vote Naked campaign and distributed over 550,000 mail-in ballot requests and helped voters take advantage of a new law that allows voting by mail for any reason; following Vote Naked, Equality Illinois created the Get Your V Card campaign to encourage voter registration and participation; and

WHEREAS, Equality Illinois built a successful campaign to protect LGBTQ youth by supporting the Youth Mental Health Protection Act; the organization led a winning effort to update the Illinois Hate Crimes Act, including the first explicit inclusion of crimes against transgender people and protections for LGBTQ community centers, and worked with Illinois' Congressional delegation to fortify support for federal pro-LGBTQ equality measures, including the Equality Act, the first comprehensive LGBTQ civil rights bill introduced in Congress; and

WHEREAS, Equality Illinois worked with local communities throughout the State to pass local nondiscrimination ordinances and unveiled a comprehensive Know Your Rights educational program to educate the LGBTQ community about its rights and responsibilities under State and federal laws; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we commend Equality Illinois, the State's oldest, largest, and most effective LGBTQ equality organization, on its work to reach individuals and organizations, both within the LGBTQ community and throughout the general public, across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors and to build a better Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Equality Illinois as an expression of our esteem and respect.