Tag Archives: Illinois

Reuters reports: Dozens of families on Wednesday sued two federal agencies and a suburban Chicago school district over a policy they said disregards student privacy and safety by allowing transgender students to use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity. Fifty-one families in the Palatine, Illinois, area sued the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Justice Department and Township High …

From the Windy City Times: Chicago Public Schools, on May 3, issued revised guidelines pertaining to its transgender students, staff and volunteers, tackling head-on questions surrounding restroom and locker room use that have been vexing school districts across the country in recent months. The guidelines—which revise policies that CPS issued in 2014—explicitly state that students will be able to use …

NBC Chicago reports: A man protesting Target’s transgender bathroom policy at a store in Bourbonnais was arrested Monday, authorities said. Michael Merichko was charged with disorderly conduct following a disturbance inside a Target store at 1615 N. State Route 50 in Bourbonnais, about 55 miles south of Chicago, according to the Bradley Police Department. Merichko was allegedly protesting Target Corporation’s …

The Springfield News-Gazette reports: A bed-and-breakfast near Paxton that turned down a same-sex couple’s request to hold a civil-union ceremony there in 2011 has been ordered to pay $30,000 in damages to the couple and $50,000 to their attorneys and to stop violating the Illinois Human Rights Act. Michael R. Robinson, an administrative law judge appointed by the Illinois Human …

Hillary Clinton has very narrowly notched her fourth win tonight, taking the Illinois primary by a fraction of a point. Meanwhile both sides of the Missouri primary still remain too close to call at this writing. I’ll pick it up in the morning, folks.

Donald Trump has won three out of four so far tonight. Things remain tight on the Democratic side in Illinois, with Hillary Clinton holding a slight lead at this writing. We’re still waiting on Missouri for both sides.

The polls are just closing in most of Florida and results will start rolling in shortly. Embedded below is a live stream from CNN. Watch along with us and weigh in.

And they threw in anti-gay and racist slurs as well. The Chicago Tribune reports: A Cook County judge on Saturday lashed out at two Northwestern University freshmen accused of spray-painting racist and homophobic messages along with the name of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump inside a nondenominational chapel on the university’s campus. “These allegations are disgusting to me,” Judge Peggy …

From the Chicagoist: New legislation filed in Springfield could make it extremely tough to be a single mother. If a father is not listed on a birth certificate to a newborn child, the bill says a birth certificate would not be issued for that child and any hopes of receiving financial assistance, if needed, would be dashed. The bill does …

From the Washington Examiner: The GOP senator has had his presidential bid challenged in recent months by Iowa GOP runner-up Donald Trump, who claimed Cruz’s Canadian birthplace disqualifies him from being president. Two Illinois objectors, Lawrence Joyce and Williams Graham, also agreed that Cruz’s citizenship did not meet guidelines in the Article II of the Constitution. But the board of …

Via press release from the Human Rights Campaign: “Senator Kirk has once again proven his leadership, by becoming the first Republican Senator to co-sponsor of the Equality Act,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “His support for the Equality Act sends a strong message that fairness and equality are bipartisan values. It also reflects the view of the overwhelming majority of …

Via press release from the Human Rights Campaign: “Bob Dold is showing tremendous leadership today by becoming the first Republican to sign on as a co-sponsor of the Equality Act and we’re thrilled that he’s standing up for our fundamental values of fairness and equality,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Far too many LGBT people – nearly two thirds – …

Protesters are blockading the storefronts of major retailers on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile at this writing in protest of the murder of a black teen by a white police officer, who has since been charged with murder. The Chicago Tribune is live-blogging from the scene. Hit this link for photos and video from the ongoing protest.

Illinois GOP state Sen. Darin LaHood, who fought against same-sex marriage and LGBT rights, has won the special election to replace disgraced and totally-not-gay former US Rep. Aaron Schock. The Associated Press reports: LaHood, easily won a special election Thursday to replace disgraced former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, sending a familiar name to Washington from Illinois. The younger LaHood’s victory brings …

Last night Porno Pete and Scott Lively were about an hour into their live-streamed fundraiser when cell phones in the apparently sparse audience began chiming with tornado warnings, prompting the moderator to say, “Well, we better get to the basement.” God timed the tornado warning to arrive moments after Lively waved around a copy of his book, The Pink Swastika, …

From the event page: Scott Lively, founder of Defend the Family International, is the most persecuted pro-family leader in the world on the issue of homosexuality. He will give his thoughts on the new reality of post-Obergefell America (the SCOTUS decision declaring “gay marriage” a supposed Constitutional right). Lively, the author of “The Pink Swastika” and several other books on …

The bill now goes to the governor’s desk. From the NCLR: “We couldn’t be prouder to add Illinois to the list of legislatures that have acted to protect LGBT youth, and we applaud the dedication of Equality Illinois and the tireless coalition on the ground. We hope Governor Bruce Rauner will join fellow Republicans like Chris Christie, who signed New …

It’s International Mister Leather weekend in Chicago and yesterday Porno Pete announced a “press conference” to be held today outside the Leather Archives. Pity the press didn’t show up. Via DNA Info: A handful of anti-gay activists and their cameramen held an event Friday morning dubbing the longstanding Leather Archives & Museum a “perversion museum” that promotes incest, pedophilia and …

From the Chicago Sun-Times: Being gay is not an illness. It requires no cure. And anybody who practices “conversion therapy,” purporting to be able to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, is a quack, engaged in medical malpractice. Conversion therapy does not work. On this, the scientific and medical consensus is strong. It can only do harm. We …

Via Equality Illinois: “Ending conversion therapy is our top priority in the legislature right now. Trying to change the unchangeable, our innate sexual orientation and gender identity, should not be attempted because it risks the health of LGBT youth,” said Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois. “We thank Rep. Kelly Cassidy, the chief House sponsor of HB217, for protecting the …