Chicago City Council Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Relations
April 27, 2022
RESOLUTION AFFIRMING CHICAGO'S COMMITMENT TO THE PROTECTION OF THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY AND MUNICIPALLY FUNDED TRAVEL BAN
WHEREAS, The City of Chicago (City) asserts that prejudice, intolerance, bigotry and discrimination threaten the rights and privileges of Chicagoans, and endanger the constitutional protections that guarantee that all persons be treated fairly, including those belonging to historically marginalized groups; and
WHEREAS, The City is home to approximately 150,000 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ+) individuals, and approximately, 4,000,000 LGBTQ+ visitors find acceptance in Chicago's welcoming communities each year; and
WHEREAS, Historically, the LGBTQ+ population-especially, transgender individuals-have faced systemic barriers to quality health care access and insurance coverage; and
WHEREAS, Additionally, the LGBTQ+ population has faced higher rates of mental illness when compared to the overall national population, as a result of a myriad of social and individual obstacles; and
WHEREAS, A 2021 national survey by the Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth, found that of approximately 35,000 LGBTQ youth between the ages of 13 and 24, 42% seriously considered attempting suicide in the prior year and 94% reported recent politics negatively impacted their mental health; and
WHEREAS, Since the start of 2022, nearly 240 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced across the country; although, many have failed to pass, Texas and Florida have enacted discriminatory legislation that effectively criminalizes and targets an already marginalized communityyes pr; and
WHEREAS, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has directed state agencies to investigate cases of gender-affirming care for transgender children as "child abuse"; and
WHEREAS, Policies like those in Texas, inherently dismiss a child's freedom in their individual self-discovery, ignore their constitutional right to healthcare, and actively disempower youth from being able to relate to internal gender identities and expressions that they would like to externally reflect; and
WHEREAS, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, signed State House Bill 1557 banning public school teachers from providing classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity for children in kindergarten through third grade, or "in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards"; and
WHEREAS, Florida's elimination of such topics will only isolate these children further and deprive students of a chance to learn about their identities and those of their peers; and
WHEREAS, Following the expansion of the Illinois Human Rights Act in 2006, Illinois became one of the first states to forbig discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals, and established itself as a leader in the protection of LGBTQ+ rights; and
1
WHEREAS, In February 2022, the Illinois Human Rights Commission further affirmed the State's commitment to protecting the LGBTQ+ community when it delivered a ruling confirming that prohibiting gender-affirming care from employee insurance plans violated Illinois' civil rights laws, including protections for gender identity; and
WHEREAS, Like the State of Illinois, the City not only has a duty to speak out against prejudice, intolerance, bigotry and discrimination, it should also take protective action for the LGBTQ+ community and make clear that City dollars and opportunities will not be provided to those who enact discriminatory practices; now, therefore
GILBERT VILLEGAS
Alderman, 36th Ward
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled on this twenty-seventh day of April 2022, do hereby call on the City to affirm its commitment to the protection of the LGBTQ+ community and call on the City to ban municipally funded travel to the states of Texas and Florida, unless the City determines that failure to authorize such travel would seriously harm the City's interests; the ban wilj be removed upon the repeal of either legislation.