Equality Illinois Thanks Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for His Long Record of Support for LGBTQ Equality

Statement by Brian C. Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois, the state’s civil rights organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) Illinoisans, following Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s announcement, Tuesday, he will not seek a third term:

“On behalf of Equality Illinois and our tens of thousands of LGBTQ equality stakeholders in the City of Chicago, we thank Mayor Rahm Emanuel for his long record of service on behalf of LGBTQ Chicagoans and visitors to the city. He has led the city forward and ensured Chicago is welcoming to LGBTQ families, seniors, workers, and immigrants.

“Among the Mayor’s efforts on behalf of the LGBTQ community, he secured funding and worked with the Chicago City Council to develop and complete the city’s first affordable housing complex for LGBTQ seniors.Mayor Emanuel partnered with former City Clerk Susana Mendoza and current City Clerk Anna Valencia to develop the municipal ID program that allows transgender and gender non-conforming individuals to select the marker of the gender with which they identify. In 2016, the Mayor and the City Council’s LGBT Caucus introduced a measure to modernize the Chicago Human Rights Ordinance so transgender individuals wouldn’t have to show an ID when using facilities, such as restrooms, in places of public accommodations. Just this summer, the Mayor announced the City was seeking landmark status for the Legacy Walk in the Boystown neighborhood of Chicago. The Legacy Walk, which had been dedicated by the Mayor in 2012, is the world’s only outdoor museum that promotes and celebrates the contributions of LGBTQ people in history. MayorEmanuel was also a crucial ally in the successful legislative fight for the freedom to marry in Illinois.

“As he serves out the remaining months in his term, we will continue to work with the Mayor and his administration to keep building a better Chicago and Illinois for LGBTQ people.”