Equality News

More than 100 people gathered inside an Oak Park church on Saturday for a vigil held to commemorate the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Thursday, November 12, 2009 ILLINOIS FOCUS: Blogs, Healthcare Reform, Food Co-ops, Alternative Energy, Groups and Events Fight for Healthcare reform in Illinois: sign up here to volunteer for the Health Care for America Now campaign in Illinois .

Area supporters of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, rights rallied at U.S. Rep.

A coalition of families of Howe center residents, a labor union, and politicians on Monday announced a petition drive aimed at keeping open the embattled Tinley Park developmental center.

The thousands of LGBT Americans and allies who marched on Washington earlier this month ago came from all corners of the country to make their battle cry for equal rights.

Equality Illinois has a mission - "to secure, protect and defend equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Illinois." Many people were unable to attend the National Equality March.

Southern Baptist Minister Sam Foskey and S.J. Creek, a doctoral candidate in sociology, answer a question while serving on a GLBTQ panel Wednesday.

McHENRY – Fred Friedman is self-described as severely mentally ill. Over the years, he's spent time in a homeless shelter, in a nursing home, and even in his “own feces” while battling depression with psychotic features.

Rick Garcia is not attending the Equality March as the political director of Equality Illinois, or as a political operative.

DOLTON, Ill. a * A 15-year-old student was walking down a hallway at school when he says a police officer grabbed him and threw him to the ground.

The timing of a gay marriage bill introduced in the Illinois Senate Thursday is drawing more attention than the issue of gay marriage.

The theme of this year's Northalsted Halloween Costume Parade , held in Chicago's Boystown gay district, will be "Mad Hatter's Ball." Presented by Triangle Neighbors Association , a branch of the Lake View Citizens' Council , in conjunction with merchants from the Northalsted Business Alliance , the iconic annual parade is always guaranteed to be ...

"The bill would provide for state recognition of same-sex marriage, while ensuing that religious institutions are not required to perform any marriages that inconsistent with their religious practices.

A state senator from Edgewater said she plans today to introduce a measure to legalize same-sex marriage in Illinois, the first time such a bill would have been up for consideration in the Senate.

"Pride plays in Peoria," Dave Barker, head of the Peoria Pride Festival, said after the event passed.

In an event that will showcase the diversity of the LGBT population in central Illinois, Peoria will hold its first-ever Peoria Pride Sunday, Sept.

Sterilization is a sensitive issue for people with disabilities, says Marsha Koelliker, public policy director for Equip for Equality, a statewide protection and advocacy organization.

A civil rights lawsuit on behalf of Illinois adults with developmental disabilities is winding through the federal court system in a complex case that involves millions of dollars, hundreds of jobs, thousands of people, unions, the usual political disputes, four years of legal finagling and lifetimes of emotions.

Autism service dog, Chewey, takes a break as he waits for Nichelle Drew and her daughter Kelsey, 7, right, and son Kaleb, 6, to fill up water bottles at the grocery store in Villa Grove, Ill., after Kaleb's first day of school on Friday, Aug.

The LGBT-rights group Equality Illinois has gone through some major changes recently, including the installation of Bernard Cherkasov as its new chief executive officer.