As this is my first column since becoming Chair of It's Time, I was going to impart some words of wisdom as to what the Presidential election will mean to our community. However, since at the time I am writing this we don't know who the next President will be I'll address other issues.

As we move toward the end of another year I feel that we are moving to some new beginnings. We are continuing our work toward getting the City of Chicago and Cook County to amend their human rights ordinances to include gender identity. Though we have been working for quite some time on these 2 issues I think we are going to see some movement in the near future. Miranda and I have been in contact with several people in City and County governments and we are more hopeful than ever.

 As to the State bill I'm afraid we'll have to utter that oft said Chicago sports phrase "wait til next year." Though we are not the lead organization on this issue we have been strong supporters of this bill currently known as House Bill 474. This bill would include sexual orientation (gender identity is included in the definition) as a protected class in the State's Human Rights Act. From the results of the recent election the composition of both the Illinois House and Senate remain pretty much the same. While I remain more hopeful that we can get this bill passed the House I still see a tough fight in the Senate. But let's keep a positive attitude.

 Since I've gone from local to state you might be thinking I'm going to address national issues next. Not exactly. We are a grass roots organization and though many of our members have been involved in national issues that is not our organization's goals. I would urge all of you to be aware of national issues such as ENDA (preferably a gender inclusive version) and the Hate Crimes Bill. It is important that our community keeps contacting our elected representatives on these issues and let them know how we feel.

In general I am hopeful that as a new year looms before us we will see some positive changes happening. However, our fight for equality is far from over. Even if some of this legislation passes the discrimination and hate crimes will not go away overnight. That is a fight that unfortunately may take even longer. Just because there are anti-discrimination laws on the books doesn't mean that people will respect our rights or that those charged with enforcing them will do so. Yet it will be a very important step and quite a large step for our community. Remember the old Chinese proverb that a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.