LGBTQ Rights

A workshop for the LGBTQ+ community will be held this this week at the Downers Grove Public Library to help guide individuals on actions they can take in everyday life to advocate for oppressed groups.

The Lockport event is hosted by the Queering The Binary Foundation, First Congregational Church of Lockport UCC and The Prideful Path Project.

The public comment period at the Plainfield Village Board meeting on Monday was focused on debate over the village flying the Pride flag each June during Pride month. At least one person - not a Plainfield resident - called for the village to fly the Christian flag instead.

David J. Silverman, attorney for the village of Shorewood, said case laws have declared these types of shows protected by the U.S. Constitution’s first amendment.

Gov. JB Pritzker has amplified calls this week for Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell to resign in the wake of Sonya Massey's shooting.

A new chapter of PFLAG Geneva/Tri-Cities has formed to promote equality and support for the local LGBTQ community. Chapter president Elaine McClure of Campton Hills said it is a national human rights organization with over 400 chapters.

With a crowd in attendance, Geneva raised the Pride Flag, recognizing June as Pride Month for the third year.

Live music, crafts and a costume contest and parade for pets and people are just some of the activities on tap for this year’s Pride Fest in downtown Downers Grove.

Pride in the 815, a new event aimed at celebrating LGBTQ youth in the community, will take over Hopkins Park in DeKalb this weekend.

Donald Trump has mocked transgender people during his campaign, using language about gender identity that LGBTQ+ advocates say is wrong and harmful

Area youth looking to build community within LGBTQ+ spaces are invited to free sessions in DeKalb tailored to those ages 12 to 18.

The Illinois Department of Public Health has announced that it became easier for Illinois residents to change the gender listed on their birth certificate as of July 1, under a new law signed by Governor JB Pritzker in February.

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority has ruled a Christian graphic artist who wants to design wedding websites can refuse to work with same-sex couples

In its third year, the annual DeKalb Pride Fest and March continues to grow and expand in more ways than one. Downtown DeKalb was filled Thursday with area residents who gathered to proclaim "Love is love."

There was no formal recognition of LGBTQ Pride or Juneteenth at last week’s Will County Board meeting following controversy over a potential decision to recognize a group that has been called extremist by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Those looking to celebrate Pride Month will find no shortage of ways to do that in Downers Grove.

Belong: Fox Valley is hosting its second annual Teen Queer Prom on April 21 in Batavia, according to a news release.

The Chicago Blackhawks will not wear Pride-themed warmup jerseys before Sunday’s Pride Night game against Vancouver because of security concerns involving a Russian law that expands restrictions on activities seen as promoting LGBTQ rights in the country

Lake in the Hills' UpRising Cafe, the center of protests and the victim of vandalism after family-friendly drag show brunch was announced last summer, set to close March 31.

DeKalb resident Elizabeth Fern Jensen says she hopes sharing her journey and how it led to a victory helps pave a clearer path for transgender individuals like herself.

Pope Francis criticized laws that criminalize homosexuality as “unjust,” saying God loves all his children just as they are and called on Catholic bishops who support the laws to welcome LGBTQ people into the church.

President Joe Biden has signed gay marriage legislation into law before a crowd of thousands, a ceremony that reflects growing acceptance of same-sex unions

Performers in Illinois told Shaw Local News Network that they think the recent rise in hostility toward drag shows in the suburbs has been driven by a small coordinated contingent who misrepresent drag and the nature of their shows.

The bipartisan legislation, which passed 258-169 with almost 40 Republican votes, would also protect interracial unions by requiring states to recognize legal marriages regardless of "sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin."

The Supreme Court‘s conservative majority sounded sympathetic Monday to a Christian graphic artist who objects to designing wedding websites for gay couples, a dispute that’s the latest clash of religion and gay rights to land at the highest court.

The Supreme Court is hearing the case of a Christian graphic artist who objects to designing wedding websites for gay couples

The legislation would repeal the Clinton-era Defense of Marriage Act and require states to recognize all marriages that were legal where they were performed. The new Respect for Marriage Act would also protect interracial marriages.

A bullet was found in threatening letter sent to the Downers Grove Public Library.

Lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union are calling Lake in the Hills’ actions toward UpRising Bakery and Cafe unconstitutional after the village told the business last week it could no longer host events.

The House has overwhelmingly approved a bill to protect same-sex and interracial marriages. The Respect for Marriage Act would repeal a law from the Clinton era that defines marriage as a heterogeneous relationship between a man and a woman.

”Love is love,” read many of the signs hoisted in the air Thursday as dozens came to march in the second annual Pride parade in downtown DeKalb.

County and state officials marked the beginning of Pride month by hoisting a rainbow flag in front of the Will County Office Building in downtown Joliet.

Debate over graphic novel "Gender Queer" that some say is a valuable resource and others contend should be removed resurface during Thursday's Antioch High School District 117 board meeting.

A new scholarship to support the further education of LGBTQ+ students has been created at Genoa-Kingston High School by a school alum who said he wants, in part, to support the school’s gender and sexuality club.

Months after the request was brought to the Genoa-Kingston school board, the district’s high school sexuality and gender club advisor will get a $717 stipend for club activities following a board vote Monday. The club's funding has been in the public eye for months.

The Huntley District 158 Board of Education rejected a proposal Thursday to host a high school graduation at Willow Creek Church in South Barrington following concern from the public about its stance on homosexuality.

Genoa-Kingston High School students and faculty are questioning the school board's decision to continually delay a vote to allow the SAGE club, which supports sexuality and gender identity and equity, to open a financial account for activities. “It’s important for me that this board knows the impact that the club can and will have," said club faculty advisor Carly George.

Andi Voinovich knows all too well that there’s much to be done about the Downers Grove area establishing and maintaining a safe and comforting space for LGBTQ+ youth.

Groups are planning more Pride events, a photo contest, and scholarships for local students

The organization’s founders hope to hold Plainfield’s own pride events in the coming years

Members of Berwyn’s LGBTQ+ community on June 8 asked the city to stop emblazoning its officially sanctioned Pride Month banners with political logos and the names of politicians.

A year ago, a rainbow-colored display marked a watershed moment for LGBTQ+ visibility in Wheaton.

Democratic members of Congress representing the Will County area backed a bill aiming to provide protections for LGBTQ individuals.

Jessica Phillips, a Democrat, is the first openly gay woman to be elected to the McHenry County Board, and she said that fact was one of the reasons that she wanted to run in the first place

A Will County Board member apologized for abstaining from a vote on a proclamation recognizing June as LGBTQ Pride Month.

A new festival to celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month is set for June in Woodstock