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MEDIA ADVISORY - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ACGLI PASSES TWO TRANSGENDER SUPPORTIVE RESOLUTIONS

Contact:

Miranda Stevens-Miller

It's Time, Illinois!

708-535-1506

ItsTimeIL@aol.com (ITIL office)

MirandaSt1@aol.com (Miranda direct)

P.O. Box 3932

Oak Park, IL 60303

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Chicago, IL --- June 20, 1999 --- At last week's monthly meeting of the Advisory Council on Gay and Lesbian Issues (ACGLI) of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations, two important resolutions were passed. Without going into all the preamble statements, the resolutions are as follows:

"Be it resolved, the Advisory Council on Gay and Lesbian Issues both supports the inclusion of gender identity/expression in the City of Chicago Human Rights Ordinance and will advocate for the passage of an amendment to the City of Chicago Human Rights Ordinance adding gender identity/expression to the CHRO."

"Be it resolved, the Advisory Council on Gay and Lesbian Issues respectfully requests that the City of Chicago Commission on Human Relations pass a similar resolution supporting the addition of gender identity/expression to the City of Chicago Human Rights Ordinance and join ACGLI in it's efforts to advocate for the passage of an amendment to the CHRO adding gender identity/expression."

Both resolutions were introduced by Robert Castillo, outgoing member of ACGLI, on June 16, 1999, and were passed unanimously by the Council.

To put these resolutions into perspective, a transgender supportive resolution was passed by ACGLI in September 1997. Since then, It's Time, Illinois has been working with ACGLI to educate the gay, lesbian, and bisexual community about gender identity issues. We have also been working to find common grounds where we could agree that inclusion of gender identity and expression benefits all members of the GLBT community.

It's Time, Illinois has also been working with ACGLI to put some teeth into the original 1997 resolution. As a matter of fact, immediately preceding the passage of the resolutions, It's Time, Illinois had presented ACGLI with the 1999 Report on Hate Crimes and Discrimination against TG people in Illinois, and had requested ACGLI's active participation in garnering aldermanic support in the coming months for an amendment to the Chicago Human Rights Ordinance.

Miranda Stevens-Miller, Chair of It's Time, Illinois said, "We are proud of Robert Castillo for his proactive support of inclusion of gender variance, and we are proud of ACGLI for their unanimous approval of these resolutions. We look forward to working even more closely with ACGLI to assure that all people of Chicago are free from the tyranny of discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and other situations."