Record #: R2022-1182   
Type: Resolution Status: Adopted
Intro date: 11/16/2022 Current Controlling Legislative Body:
Final action: 11/16/2022
Title: Tribute to late Elise Malary and recognition of Transgender Day of Resilience and support of Hire Trans Now
Sponsors: Lightfoot, Lori E. , Brookins, Jr., Howard, Mitts, Emma, Martin, Matthew J. , Villegas, Gilbert, Osterman, Harry, Hadden, Maria E. , Scott, Monique L. , Sigcho-Lopez, Byron, Rodriguez, Michael D., King, Sophia D., Vasquez, Jr., Andre, Tunney, Thomas, Cappleman, James, Nugent, Samantha , Rodriguez Sanchez, Rossana , Gardiner, James M. , Sadlowski Garza, Susan, Waguespack, Scott, Lopez, Raymond A.
Attachments: 1. R2022-1182.pdf

 

OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

CITY OF CHICAGO

LORI E. LIGHTFOOT

MAYOR

November 16, 2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TO THE HONORABLE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO

 

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

1 transmit herewith, together with Aldermen Brookins, Mitts, Martin, Villegas, Osterman, Hadden, Scott. Sigcho-Lopez, Rodriguez, King, Vasquez, T unney, Cappleman. Nugent. Rodriguez-Sanchez, Gardiner, Sadlowski-Garza, Waguespack and Lopez, a memorial resolution honoring Elise Malary.

 

Your favorable consideration of this resolution will be appreciated.

 

 

Very truly yours,

 

RESOLUTION

 

WHEREAS, November 13-19 marks Transgender Awareness Week and the twentieth day of November is Transgender Day of Resilience (formerly called Transgender Day of Remembrance); and

 

WHEREAS, We rejoice for those who have survived the discrimination that has harmed so many, we celebrate those who continue the struggle for equality, we condemn the stigma and isolation that so many have suffered, and we mourn those who have died; and

 

WHEREAS, Recently, we lost one of our brightest lights in the fight for equality among all when we lost Elise Malary in March at the young age of 31, a beloved sister, friend, advocate, and community leader who was known for her fierceness, kindness, and compassion; and

 

WHEREAS, Elise was passionate about advancing social justice for LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities, especially Trans people of color like herself, who experience hardships, rejection, stigmatization, violence, and disparities regarding access to affirming health care services, community resources, and opportunities for housing, workforce development, and employment; and

 

WHEREAS, Elise made fighting discrimination her life's work as she interned at the AIDS Foundation Chicago and worked at Equality Illinois, the Chicago Reader, and the Civil Rights Bureau of the Illinois Attorney General's Office, and would regularly join advocates from across Illinois to lobby state legislators in support of LGBTQ+ affirming legislation during annual LGBTQ+ Advocacy Days, and also served for three years as a member of the Equality Illinois Community Advisory Group; and

 

WHEREAS, Elise traveled around the state to lift up LGBTQ+ lllinoisans, including several trips to Carbondale where she met with LGBTQ+ youth at the Rainbow Cafe LGBTQ Center, and was the keynote speaker at the Center's gala where her remarks inspired and offered hope to those who attended the event; and

 

WHEREAS, Elise was a founding member of the Chicago Therapy Collective, the mission of which is to promote city-wide accountability and action to alleviate LGBTQ+ health disparities and advance collective LGBTQ+ health and well-being through education, therapy, advocacy, and the arts, and Elise helped coordinate the Collective's annual Transgender Day of Resilience and Transgender Day of Visibility events and was a leader on the Hire Trans Now initiative to reduce anti-Trans hiring stigma and create pipelines to Trans-affirming jobs; and

 

WHEREAS, As an example of her activism, when anti-Trans stickers were placed at Women and Children First Bookstore in Andersonville, Elise co-organized the Collective's rally and community chalking of the sidewalk outside the bookstore with messages of hope and affirmation for Trans people; and

 

 

WHEREAS, Elise's work to illuminate that our city has seen too many cases of missing and murdered Trans women of color go unresolved demands we take action; and

 

WHEREAS, In the words of Iggy V Ladden, founder of the Chicago Therapy Collective, "Elise faced hardness and chose kindness. Elise faced cruelty and chose softness, love, and joy. She chose giving people the benefit of the doubt. She looked for the good in them. She chose compassion, and she chose time and time again to lift others up"; now, therefore,

 

BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this sixteenth day of November 2022, do hereby grieve with the family and friends of Elise Malary, and we commit to honoring her memory and making her legacy meaningful; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That we celebrate Transgender Day of Resilience, joining with the LGBTQ+ community in applauding the advancements that have been made, standing together against discrimination, and promising to work together to make Chicago a safe and equitable city for all Trans people to live, visit, and work; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That we support the Hire Trans Now initiative in raising awareness and communicating the importance of proactive recruitment of Trans job candidates and efforts to build more Trans-inclusive organizational policies and practices for Trans people across Chicago; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That we restate our support for resources and solutions that lift up Trans residents, such as Hire Trans Now, and to embrace and be guided by Hire Trans Now's best practices for Trans-inclusive employment into our hiring fabric, and the hiring fabric of our business and community partners, to help foster more safe, just, and inclusive workplaces for Trans people across Chicago.