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NATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN TASK FORCE
PRESS RELEASE – November 6, 2002

MEDIA CONTACT:
Sheri A. Lunn
slunn@ngltf.org; 323-857-8751 (Los Angeles office); 800-757-6476 (pager)

http://www.ngltf.org
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NATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN TASK FORCE LAUDS CHICAGO CITY COUNCIL FOR PASSING TRANSGENDER ANTI-DISCRIMINATION MEASURE

Council Votes to Add "Gender Identity" To Chicago’s Human Rights Ordinances

November 6, 2002, Chicago, Illinois - The Chicago City Council today voted to pass a measure amending the city's anti-discrimination laws to add explicit coverage for transgender Chicagoans. Mayor Richard Daley has expressed his support for the measure and is expected to sign it.

According to National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) Executive Director Lorri L. Jean, "Chicago activists have been working for many years on this effort. Adding protections based on gender identity and expression is simply the right thing to do and NGLTF calls on fair-minded jurisdictions across the country to do the same."

The effort to pass the bill was led by Illinois Gender Advocates (IGA). The amendment passed the Council's Human Relations Commission unanimously on October 31. The listed sponsors and their wards are: Bernie Hansen (44th), Billy Ocasio (26th), Richard Mell (33rd), Gene Schulter (47th), Vilma Colom (35th), Mary Ann Smith (48th) and Helen Shiller (46th).The bill adds "a person's gender identity, appearance, or behavior," to Chicago's Human Rights and Fair Housing Ordinances, which cover employment, housing, and public accommodations. Sexual orientation was added to the law in 1988.

With the Mayor's signature, Chicago will become the twelfth jurisdiction in 2002 to pass a law to add explicit gender identity and/or expression protections to a local anti-discrimination law, either simultaneously with the addition of sexual orientation or standing alone.

NGLTF supported the effort by developing advocacy materials and strategy with IGA, as well as mailing an action alert to all NGLTF members in Chicago urging them to contact their aldermen and Mayor Daley. NGLTF also collected endorsements of the bill by national organizations and coordinated a joint letter from those organizations to Mayor Daley.

The eleven other jurisdictions that have passed anti-discrimination laws that include transgender people this year are: Allentown, PA; Boston, MA; Buffalo, NY; Erie County, PA; Dallas, TX; Decatur, IL; New Hope, PA; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Salem, OR; and Tacoma, WA. With the addition of Chicago, there will be a total of 51 jurisdictions in the United States that explicitly include transgender people in their anti-discrimination laws, including 42 cities, seven counties and the two states of Rhode Island and Minnesota.

NGLTF's Transgender Civil Rights Project provides legislative and strategy assistance, including evaluation of legislative language, to activists and organizations working to pass trans-inclusive anti-discrimination ordinances or add transgender people to existing laws.

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Founded in 1973, NGLTF works to eliminate prejudice, violence and
injustice against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people
at the local, state and national level. As part of a broader
social justice movement for freedom, justice and equality, NGLTF
is creating a world that respects and celebrates the diversity of
human expression and identity where all people may fully participate
in society.