Strawberry Hampton, a transgender woman who has been incarcerated in several men's prisons across Illinois, has described feeling like a "sex slave" according to court documents claiming repeated abuse and sexual assaults involving guards and inmates...

Many municipalities extend vital protections to their LGBTQ citizens and visitors WASHINGTON, D.C. -- On Monday, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (L...

Cuyahoga County Council just made history for its LGBTQ residents. The council––the first county in Ohio, and only one of two that can enact such a law, the other being Summit––voted to establish county-wide LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination protecti...

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - The St. Joseph City Council voted to pass a LGBTQ+ inclusive non-discrimination ordinance, late Monday, by a vote of 8-1.   ...

The ACLU of Missouri has filed a lawsuit against the Missouri Commission on Human Rights (MCHR) for failing to protect Missourians from sex-based discrimination at work.   ...

Gov. Bruce Rauner betrayed Illinois’ values of equality and fairness by vetoing a significant bill to strengthen workplace non-discrimination protections in the Illinois Human Rights Act, said Equality Illinois, the state’s civil rights organization ...

Seventeen leading civil rights organizations in Illinois are urging Gov. Bruce Rauner, in a letter sent to him on Tuesday, to sign legislation that would ban employment discrimination in all workplaces.   ...

CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. - A Southeast Missouri man is being charged with three felony counts of assault motivated by discrimination after allegedly punching three people at a bar he thought were gay, Ozark First reports.   ...

House to take up measure that helps all students have fuller understanding of history   SPRINGFIELD,Ill. – On a bipartisan roll call, the Illinois Senate passed the Inclusive Curriculum Bill on Wednesday, sending the measure calling for the in...

Equality Illinois legislative agenda items will ban anti-LGBTQ panic defense, modernize birth certificate changes and build LGBTQ leadership. ...

Boards and Commissions Initiative will build LGBTQ policy and political power in the state CHICAGO, Ill. — Equality Illinois is launching a new initiative to build the policy and political power of LGBTQ Illinoisans by linking qualified lesbian, ga...

CHICAGO, Ill. - The Equality Illinois PAC is endorsing 32 incumbent legislators in its first round of endorsements as the state heads into the 2018 election cycle, the statewide LGBTQ political action committee announced Thursday. ...

CHICAGO, Ill. - LGBTQ and allied groups met with Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner this week to discuss challenges faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Illinoisans that might find remedy in actions by the state. ...

HOUSTON, Mo. - Four people have been charged in the brutal murder of Ally Lee Steinfield, 17, a Southwest Missouri transgender teen who was recently reported missing by family members. ...

Criminal defendants who kill LGBTQ people can no longer be acquitted by claiming a panic defense–that they were provoked by a fear of the victim's sexual orientation or gender identity–under a new law signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner that was part of the ...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Equality Illinois is at the Illinois State Fair, which opened Thursday, seeking support from fairgoers against President Trump’s proposed ban on transgender people serving in the military. ...

Advocates urge Gov. Rauner to sign bill to help transgender Illinoisans SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – House Bill 1785, a measure to modernize Illinois law allowing people to change the gender marker on their birth certificate, passed the Senate Wednesday nig...

Equality Illinois initiative says victims' sexual orientation or gender identity no excuse for murder SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Illinois General Assembly completed action Wednesday on a bill that prohibits a defendant from using the sexual orientation...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – 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...

CHICAGO, Ill – LGBTQ Americans find themselves in a position we haven't been in for nearly a decade: fighting against an administration that wants to turn back the clock on LGBTQ rights. This sadly signals to others that it is permissible to try to s...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Equality Illinois announced on Monday its 2017 legislative agenda, a package of bills to advance the civil rights protections of LGBTQ Illinoisans in the criminal justice system, improve representation on public boards and commiss...

CHICAGO, Ill. – A proposal to update and modernize a more than half-century old law allowing people to change the gender marker on their Illinois birth certificate was filed today in the Illinois House. ...

A Statewide Coalition of Organizations that Work with LGBTQ Illinoisans Issued the Following Statement ...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Equality Illinois on Thursday denounced a new attempt by anti-LGBTQ forces in the Illinois General Assembly to discriminate against same-sex married couples. ...

CHICAGO, Ill. – Chicago Human Relations Commissioner Mona Noriega and Personal PAC CEO Terry Cosgrove will be the 2017 recipients of the Equality Illinois Freedom Award for their lifelong commitment to fighting for the civil rights and personal freed...

28 LGBTQ people and allies to assist with policymaking at state's largest LGBTQ civil rights organization CHICAGO, Ill. - Equality Illinois on Monday announced the formation of its Community Advisory Group consisting of a diverse representation fro...

CHICAGO, Ill. - More than 1,400 attendees, including more than 100 political figures and community VIPs  will descend on the Hilton Chicago for Equality Illinois' 2017 Gala on Sat., Feb. 4, 2017.  ...

CAMDENTON, Mo. - A double homicide in Camden County, Mo. is being investigated as an anti-LGBT hate crime by local and federal officials. ...

CHICAGO, Ill. - Equality Illinois today condemned the lawsuit filed by a small handful of pastors against Illinois' law protecting LGBT youth from harmful conversion therapy. The Youth Mental Health Protection Act is based in scientific consensus aga...

CHICAGO, Ill.– Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan on Wed. joined 12 other attorneys general throughout the U.S. in support of the Obama Administration’s policies that advance the equal treatment and protection of transgender Americans in workplac...

U.S. District Court Judge Staci Yandle to honor recipients     CHICAGO – Forty Illinois law firms that lead the way in providing a welcoming and fair work environment for LGBT employees and engaging with the LGBT community are being reco...

CHICAGO, Ill.– Of the many personal, medical and legal challenges faced by transgender Illinoisans, Equality Illinois, The John Marshall Law School and the Seyfarth Shaw law firm are teaming up to try to make the legal issues a little easier to manag...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Illinois General Assembly on Tuesday passed legislation ensuring pension fairness for LGBT individuals who retired from public employment prior to the civil unions law and marriage equality law. Equality Illinois, the state's ...

CHICAGO, Ill. – As LGBT Pride Month begins June 1, Brian C. Johnson assumes the leadership of Equality Illinois with a pledge to expand the organization's inclusiveness by launching a summer-long, statewide listening tour to talk to community leaders...

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Columbia Police Department has appointed Officer Clinton Sinclair as its first LGBT Liaison, KOMU reports. CPD said they created the position because they want to bridge gaps between the department and members of the LGBT communit...

CHICAGO, Ill. – U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, chief House sponsor of the Equality Act, will be the keynote speaker at EqualityCon 2016, a two-day convention of LGBT champions, progressive advocates, allies, policy experts, political leaders and communit...

PULASKI COUNTY, Mo. - A St. Robert Missouri City Councilman has published a series of anti-LGBT posts on Facebook in opposition to the upcoming "drag-a-palooza" event at the St. Robert Community Center scheduled for Saturday, June 25. The drag show i...

CHICAGO, Ill. – EqualityCon 2016, a two-day conference of LGBT champions, progressive advocates, allies, policy experts, political leaders and community groups hosted by Equality Illinois, convenes in Chicago this month to focus on issues important t...

CHICAGO, Ill. – Equality Illinois (EI), the state’s oldest and largest organization advocating for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Illinoisans, has named Brian C. Johnson as Chief Executive Officer, the organization announced on Monday....

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Old Glass Place in downtown Springfield was filled with members of the Queen City LGBT community on Saturday night to mark the 20th anniversary of The Gay & Lesbian Community Center of the Ozarks. ...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Advocates from Equality Illinois and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago–including a transgender university student and the mother of a transgender child–met with Gov. Bruce Rauner and legislators this week in Springfield to advance a ...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Equality Illinois, partner organizations, and citizens from across the state are in the state Capitol Wednesday for meetings with the state’s leaders on LGBT Advocacy Day and calling on officials to advance a lived equality for le...

Includes end to panic defenses, non-discrimination in jury service and easier birth certificate changes   SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Equality Illinois on Friday announced its 2016 legislative agenda, including prohibiting the use of panic defenses in...

CHICAGO, Ill. – The Equality Illinois Political Action Committee (EI PAC) issued its second and final round of endorsements for the 2016 primary elections, focusing on more legislative races and local offices. ...

CHICAGO, Ill. – The Equality Illinois Political Action Committee issued its first round of endorsements for the 2016 primary elections on Monday, supporting Susana Mendoza for the Democratic nomination for Illinois State Comptroller and the re-electi...

CHICAGO, Ill. – The Equality Illinois 25th Anniversary Gala this Saturday will celebrate a quarter century of progress for LGBT Illinoisans and the organization's enduring commitment to securing equal treatment for all. ...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Following a spate of similar legislation across the nation, a anti-transgender "bathroom bill" has been introduced in the Illinois House. ...

CHICAGO, Ill. - According to Equality Illinois, individuals can use the restroom consistent with their gender identity in the Land of Lincoln. But for many transgender and gender non-conforming Americans the simple practice of using these public faci...

This week, U.S. Rep. Bob Dold (R-IL) became the first Republican in Congress to co-sponsor the Equality Act now pending on Capitol Hill. The landmark legislation is the first-ever comprehensive federal civil rights bill for lesbian, gay, bisexual, an...

Kentucky‘s newly appointed governor Matt Bevin is inheriting a legal bill for his state’s failed attempts at blocking same-sex marriage. ...

Statement by Bernard Cherkasov, CEO, Equality Illinois, November 6, 2015: ...

  CHICAGO, Ill. – Leaders from lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) state equality organizations will meet next week in Chicago for a conference on how to tackle serious challenges that remain despite the Supreme Court ruling in fav...

  SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Xi Omicron Iota sorority at Missouri State University has changed its bylaws to accept transgender students who identify as female, The Springfield News Leader reports. ...

  SPRINGFIELD, IL – Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signed two more pro-equality bills today, including a measure to protect LGBT youth by prohibiting the practice of so-called conversion therapy. ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A transgender woman died in the early hours on Saturday morning after repeatedly being run over near a Kansas City church parking lot, KCTV reports. ...

The Mid-America Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (Mid-America GLCC) was honored today with the Rising Star Chamber Award at the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC)’s 2015 International Business & Leadership Conference in F...

  SPRINGFIELD, IL - LGBT community leaders and allies, progressive advocates, civic officials, community groups and interested individuals will gather in Springfield on August 29 for the LGBT Equality Institute presented by Equality Illinois....

  SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner today signed House Bill 3930 or the Enhanced Hate Crimes Law which further protects LGBT Illinoisans, and includes the explicit mention of crimes against transgender people for the first time. ...

Illinois U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk, along with several members of the Illinois U.S. House delegation have co-sponsored the recently introduced Student Non-Discrimination Act. ...

CHICAGO, Ill. – Equality Illinois this week launched a new publication and a series of training seminars to help business executives build inclusive companies that benefit them, their staffs, and the customers they serve. The presenting partner of th...

  KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon announced today that he has issued an executive order mandating all state government agencies must comply with last month's U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage in all 50 states...

  SPRINGFIELD – In a bipartisan vote on Tuesday the Illinois Senate approved a measure to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth from so-called “conversion therapy"  to change their sexual orientation and gender...

  SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Illinois Senate on Wednesday unanimously gave final approval to a bill enhancing hate crimes protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Illinoisans. Last month, the measure, House Bill 3930, passed...

  SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - In a bipartisan vote on Tuesday the Illinois House approved a measure to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth from so-called “conversion therapy"  to change their sexual orientation and gender...

RAYMORE, Mo. — A Missouri high school teacher was removed from the classroom and placed on administrative leave after he showed students a decades-old public service announcement that depicted gay men as depraved sexual predators.   ...

  The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals announced on Wednesday that they will delay the hearing on cases involving challenges to the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage until after a U.S. Supreme Court decision on the same issue.  &n...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Springfield News Leader Editorial Board, today, published a scolding rebuke of the voters who opted to repeal the city's LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance this week.   ...

  SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - An LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance in Missouri's third largest city went down to defeat tonight as voters narrowly affirmed Question 1 by a margin of just three percent. ...

  SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Mirroring a wave of anti-equality efforts in state legislatures and cities across the nation, opponents of a recently passed LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance in Missouri's third largest city are asking voters to...

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Tax commission has denied an application for a personalized license plate supporting the LGBT community because it carries “a sexual connotation.”   ...

  CHICAGO – Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner met with LGBT leaders for the first time today committing his administration to strict enforcement of non-discrimination laws and leaving the door open to new initiatives to protect Illinoisans who exper...

  DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa state Senate has passed a bill that would ban mental health providers from practicing therapy aimed at converting the sexual orientation of a minor.    ...

  SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A notable group of Illinois mental health, medical and academic organizations have signed a letter released today in support of the Illinois Conversion Therapy Prohibition Act which would ban so called conversion therapy...

  CHICAGO – An online petition was launched yesterday by a coalition dedicated to fighting so called conversion therapy of LGBT youth in Illinois, urging state lawmakers and Gov. Bruce Rauner to support legislation banning the practice. &nbs...

Hundreds of businesses in both Arkansas and Nebraska have signed a pledge with the Human Rights Campaign to advance workplace equality for members of the LGBT community.    ...

    COLUMBIA, Mo. — The University of Missouri, Columbia will offer a new gender-neutral housing option starting this fall. ...

  TOPEKA, Kansas – Thousands are expected today at the Kansas state capital to rally in protest against Gov. Sam Brownback's decision to rescind an executive order that offered protections to LGBT state employees. ...

  JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a St. Louis County Circuit Court judge should not have dismissed a request to divorce a same-sex couple. The state High Court stopped short of deciding on the broader is...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau says he is “deeply concerned” about a decision from a Catholic-based hospital group to extend benefits to same-sex spouses of employees.   ...

  LOS ANGELES— LGBT Americans face greater social and economic disparities in the South, Midwest, and Mountain states, according to a new Williams Institute report sponsored by Credit Suisse, a longtime partner of the Williams Institute. The ...

  COLUMBIA, MO – Boone County will grant employment, retirement and survivor benefits to same-sex spouses of county employees beginning Jan. 1, the Columbia Daily Tribune reports.   ...

  Add Arkansas and Mississippi to the growing list of states to have their same-sex marriage bans overturned by federal judges. Both decisions striking down 2004 voter-approved constitutional amendments were handed down Tuesday. Stays have be...

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri has filed a lawsuit on behalf of an Ozark, Mo., fire department captain seeking spousal benefits for same-sex couples.   ...

  The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, today, denied the Kansas request to stay U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree's decision overturning the Kansas same-sex marriage ban stemming from a legal challenge from two lesbian couples.   ...

   CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO – On October 28, 2014, Southeast Missouri State University's Board of Regents unanimously approved extending benefits to same-sex spouses of university employees of legally married couples.   ...

ST. LOUIS – When the Supreme Court struck down section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act last year, the federal government recognized marriages of same-sex couples for most purposes. However, the Social Security Administration and the Department of Ve...

    ST. LOUIS – This year has proven to be a monumental year for LGBT Missourians. Those monumental steps have been the recognition of out-of-state marriages by the State of Missouri, and the leadership of nearly 19 Missouri hospitals, ...

  SPRINGFIELD, MO – In a 6-3 vote last night, the Springfield City Council passed comprehensive nondiscrimination protections for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in employment, housing, and public accommodations. C...

  KANSAS CITY, MO – The ACLU of Kansas today filed a lawsuit against district court clerks in Douglas and Sedgwick counties for their refusal to issue marriage applications to two same-sex couples, despite the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals li...

  Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced Monday that he would not appeal last week’s circuit court judgment in Barrier v. Vasterling ruling that Missouri must recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other states.   ...

  KANSAS CITY, MO – Circuit Judge J. Dale Youngs has ruled today that the marriages of 10 same-sex couples married out-of-state must be recognized by the state of Missouri.   ...

  ST. LOUIS – PROMO, Missouri’s statewide LGBT advocacy organization today sent a letter to supporters addressing the delay in decisions in two court cases challenging the state’s ban on same-sex marriage:   ...

  KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Oral arguments were heard Thursday morning at the Jackson County Courthouse in a historic lawsuit filed by the ACLU on behalf of 10 Missouri same-sex couples who were legally married elsewhere.   ...

  KANSAS CITY, Mo. - On September 25 at 9:30am, Jackson County courthouse in Kansas City will hear oral arguments on a landmark marriage case of ten plaintiff couples. Filed in February 2014 by the ACLU of Missouri, Barrier v. Vasterling...

  SPRINGFIELD, MO – Outrage over a prominent southwest Missouri attorney’s letter denouncing equality efforts at the Ozark Fire Department has brought about an apology in less than 24 hours.   ...

OZARK, MO – A letter penned by a well-known Springfield, Mo. attorney about equality efforts at a southwest Missouri fire department is drawing the ire of the LGBT community.   ...

  OZARK, Mo. — The Ozark Fire Department in southwest Missouri has been told that the state constitution won’t allow extending benefits to an employee who is in a same-sex marriage.   ...

  JEFFERSON CITY, MO. — A federal judge will now hear one of the lawsuits challenging Missouri’s ban on same-sex marriage it was announced today.   ...

  Colleen Simon is suing the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph for firing her from her parish food pantry job after learning of her marriage to another woman.   ...

  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jackson County, Mo., will not fight a lawsuit challenging Missouri’s ban on same-sex marriage.   ...

  FORT LEONARD WOOD, MO – The Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood celebrated the army base’s first lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Pride Month event on June 30 at the USO Building.   ...

  WAYNESVILLE, MO – Janell Jackson just wanted some information on an upcoming Pride Luncheon at Ft. Leonard Wood, a U.S. Army base in southern Missouri. What she received was the anti-gay opinions of a local publisher.   ...

  COLUMBIA, MO – This afternoon, the University of Missouri Board of Curators voted in favor of including gender identity and gender expression to their nondiscrimination policy.  This policy change applies to any phase of its “employmen...

  KANSAS CITY, MO - The St. Louis LGBT History Project joined sister projects from Kansas City (The Gay and Lesbian Archive of Mid-America) and Springfield (Ozarks Lesbian and Gay Archives) at the Midwest Archives Conference in Kansas City on...

  JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The 2014 Missouri state legislative session adjourned Friday without a vote on the LGBT-inclusive Missouri Nondiscrimination Act (MONA).     ...

  COLUMBIA, MO - With marriage equality comes same-sex divorce. Or at least that should be the natural order of things. But a Boone County judge’s ruling last month granting Missouri’s first same-sex divorce could prove a game changer in defe...

  JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Impeachment efforts to oust Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon over his decision to allow same-sex couples to file joint state tax returns got underway during a House hearing held on April 24.   ...

  JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Opponents of same-sex marriage have asked a Missouri court to block Gov. Jay Nixon’s order that the state accept jointly filed tax returns from same-sex couples legally married in other states.   ...

  HANNIBAL, Mo. — An honors-caliber college student says he was denied readmission to a northern Missouri Baptist school after he came out as gay in a Facebook post back in December. ...

  JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Missouri House Committee on March 13, heard testimony on the proposed Missouri Non-discrimination Act (MONA).   ...

  KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The city council in Kansas City, Mo., on March 7, voted in favor of a resolution calling for an end to statewide discrimination against the LGBT community by supporting the Missouri Nondiscrimination Act (MONA). ...

  BLOOMINGTON, IL - Republican McLean County Clerk Kathy Michael says she hopes to be issuing same-sex marriage licenses by the middle of next week. The decision makes McLean the third county, and largest in the state, to do so after a federa...

  JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — While Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer deliberates the fate of her state’s anti-gay religious freedom bill, legislation was filed on Feb. 24 in the Missouri Senate that would allow Missouri business owners to cite religious bel...

  SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A bill that would prohibit the use of controversial gay-to-straight conversion therapy on LGBT youth, has been introduced in the Illinois state legislature. ...

  JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Show Me State’s annual Equality Day was held at the state capitol in Jefferson City on Feb. 19, where dozens of LGBT and allied Missourians lobbied state lawmakers to support the Missouri Nondiscrimination (MONA) a...

  COLUMBIA, Mo. – Members of the Westboro Baptist Church, home of the anti-gay extremists behind the “Gods Hate Fags” and “God hates the World” fundamentalist movement, on Feb. 15 protested the coming out of Missouri football player Michael S...

  ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Missouri joined the growing list of states facing legal challenges to their gay marriage bans, Feb. 12, when the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit seeking to force it to recognize the out-of-state marriages of ...