LGBTQ Rights

THE PLAN FOR LGBTQ RIGHTS  

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Anti-LGBTQ legislation and hate crimes are sweeping the nation. Chicago is a regional hub for LGBTQ community and culture, with tens of thousands of LGBTQ residents, and thousands more visiting from across the Midwest and the rest of the country. It is the duty of the mayor to ensure that Chicago keeps the promises its made to LGBTQ people, and commits to further investment. 

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Brandon Johnson will champion LGBTQ rights as human rights, and be a visible and vocal ally to creating safety and equal opportunity for the LGBTQ community. He will enact Chicago policies that address all of the issues that impact members of the LGBTQ community regardless of ability, age, ethnicity/race, faith, gender expression, immigrant status, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. 

To forward justice in Chicago for LGBTQ people, especially trans and gender non-conforming people who experience additional needs, Brandon will:

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Protect Our People

Ensure that hate crimes against LGBTQ people in Chicago are taken seriously and investigated fully. Brandon will ensure CPD uses its existing resources to improve the solve rate of murders of trans individuals in Chicago.

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Advance Economic Opportunity
Trans women earn as little as 60 cents on the dollar compared to the average worker. LGBTQ men and women, as well as trans men and non-binary people, also experience a wage gap. Brandon will increase economic opportunity and create a more just Chicago for all.

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Expand Healthcare Access

Works with state officials to expand access to, and ensure the affordability of, health care that is used predominantly by LGBTQ individuals. 

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Invest in the LGBTQ Community

Make the most substantial investment in the LGBTQ community in Chicago’s history. 

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Protect Our People: Dignity and Safety

 🔵 Improve the solve rate of murders of trans individuals in Chicago

 🔵 Investigate hate crimes against LGBTQ people in Chicago

 🔵 End misgendering in official records

 🔵 Strengthen human rights protections for LGBTQ people in Chicago

 🔵 Educate Chicagoans on affirming forms of identification

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Advance Economic Opportunity

 🔵 Enforce anti-discrimination laws in housing and employment

 🔵 Representation matters

 🔵 Expand opportunities for LGBTQ people to find union jobs

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Expand Healthcare Access

 🔵 Expand access and affordability of health care used predominantly by LGBTQ people

 🔵 Protect centers of care for LGBTQ people

 🔵 Ensure substance abuse treatment centers are trained on providing affirming care to LGBTQ people

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Invest in the LGBTQ Community

 🔵 Create and fully fund a Department of LGBTQ Affairs within the Office of Gender Equity 

 🔵 Invest in the needs and well-being of transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) residents

 🔵 Ensure that multiple streams of funding are made available to provide resources to LGBTQ individuals outside of HIV and AIDS. 

 🔵 Preserve LGBTQ cultural cornerstones

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Protect Our People: Dignity and Safety

Improve solve rate of murders of trans individuals in Chicago

Nearly every year, LGBTQ organizations remind us that more trans women were killed that year than any other year on record. In Chicago, these murders often go unsolved. Brandon Johnson will ensure that CPD uses its existing resources to improve the solve rate of murders of trans individuals in Chicago.

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Investigate hate crimes against LGBTQ people in Chicago

As anti-LGBTQ sentiment on the far right runs rampant, hate crimes against LGBTQ people are once again on the rise. All people in our city deserve to feel safe, secure and protected, which is why Brandon Johnson will work as mayor to ensure that hate crimes against LGBTQ people in Chicago are taken seriously, and investigated fully, and that hate has no home in our city. Brandon will stand up for LGBTQ people whenever possible, and stand with the LGBTQ community in defending drag performers, affirming curricula in schools, uplifting the dignity of trans people and more. 

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End misgendering in official records

Far too often, murdered trans people are misgendered by official records, which leads to misinformation being spread by local news outlets covering the deaths. And the Cook County Medical Examiner often does not have adequate information to properly identify the bodies of deceased trans individuals that come into their care. Brandon Johnson will work with the Cook County Medical Examiner and the General Assembly to expand the flow of useful information, which will serve an important role in decreasing the number of trans people misgendered by official records.

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Strengthen human rights protections for LGBTQ people in Chicago

As mayor, Brandon Johnson will commit to strengthening human rights protections for LGBTQ people in Chicago wherever possible to ensure that people from across the state – and from other states that pass laws hostile to LGBTQ people – will be safe and protected in our city. 

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Educate Chicagoans on affirming forms of identification

In 2019, Illinois passed a law which added the option for an “X” gender marker on state IDs and driver’s licenses. Unfortunately, the implementation of that law has been delayed until 2024 at the earliest. Thanks to the work of City Clerk Anna Valencia, Chicago offers the CityKey ID card, which is the only ID card available in Cook County with an “X” gender marker option. Brandon Johnson will work with the City Clerk’s office to expand education about, and access to, affirming forms of identification for Chicagoans until the Secretary of State’s office is able to implement affirming IDs statewide.

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Advance Economic Opportunity

National research consistently shows that LGBTQ people face pervasive economic discrimination at every level, with trans women earning as little as 60 cents on the dollar compared to the average worker. LGBTQ men and women, as well as trans men and non-binary people, also experience a wage gap. Economic opportunity for all people is key to making a more just Chicago for all. 

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Enforce anti-discrimination laws in housing and employment

Brandon Johnson will dedicate resources to enforcing anti-discrimination laws in housing and employment so that LGBTQ Chicagoans know that the administration takes every violation of their human rights seriously. 

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Representation matters 

Trans and gender nonconforming people are an untapped pool of diverse talent in our workforce. Hire Trans Now is a visibility campaign that advocates for hiring diverse and talented transgender, gender nonconforming, gender expansive and nonbinary individuals. A Brandon Johnson administration will implement and invest in the Hire Trans initiative.

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Brandon Johnson supports Alderman Matt Martin’s resolution calling on the City to collect more accurate information about how many LGBTQ individuals are employed by a municipal entity or sister agency. As mayor, he will work to ensure that LGBTQ people are properly represented in our municipal workforce. 

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Expand opportunities for LGBTQ people to find union jobs

The best way to ensure that LGBTQ people have access to dignified, good-paying jobs is through union. As mayor, Brandon Johnson will work with partners in the labor movement, alongside key community organizations like the Chicago LGBTQ Workers Center and Chicago Women In Trades, to expand opportunities for LGBTQ people to find union jobs that pay a living wage. 

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Expand Healthcare Access 

Expand access and affordability of healthcare used predominantly by LGBTQ people

LGBTQ people have unique needs in health care access, from gender affirming care, to medications such as PrEP and PEP which help prevent the spread of HIV, to family planning-related care which is often prohibitively expensive. Brandon Johnson will lead an administration that works with state officials to expand access to, and ensure the affordability of, healthcare that is used predominantly by LGBTQ people. The Johnson Administration will also direct the Office of Gender Equity to work with community agencies that provide this care, finding solutions that increase the quality of care while decreasing wait times so that more Chicagoans can find, and access, the care that they need. 

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Protect centers of care for LGBTQ people

Expanding access to health care is not enough on its own. Brandon Johnson will protect centers of care for LGBTQ people, such as Weiss Memorial Hospital in Uptown, to ensure that the excellent care our city already provides remains here for years to come. 

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Ensure substance abuse treatment centers are trained on providing affirming care to LGBTQ people

Like many members of many marginalized communities, LGBTQ people are especially vulnerable to substance abuse and addiction. Having access to an affirming safe-consumption site, or an affirming treatment program, can be the difference between life or death. Brandon Johnson will direct the Chicago Department of Public Health to collaborate with all providers of addiction and substance abuse treatment to ensure that they are trained on providing affirming care to LGBTQ people, especially on the South and West sides, so that LGBTQ people living in disinvested communities don’t have to go far from home to get the treatment that they need. 

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Invest in the LGBTQ Community

Create and fully fund a Department of LGBTQ Affairs within the Office of Gender Equity 

As a Cook County Commissioner, Brandon Johnson worked on some of the most progressive laws and protections for LGBTQ people anywhere in the U.S. As mayor, he will use that knowledge and experience to make the most substantial investment in the LGBTQ community in the history of Chicago. That starts with creating the Department of LGBTQ Affairs within the Office of Gender Equity. 

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“We will make sure that there is always someone at the table in my administration who is focused on the needs of some of our most vulnerable Chicagoans. We will fully fund this department, along with the whole Office of Gender Equity, within my first year as mayor. A token investment in the community is insufficient, and LGBTQ people have been underrepresented in municipal infrastructure for far too long. 

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Invest in the needs and wellbeing of TGNC residents

Less than $1 million in public funding is allocated statewide to programs that specifically serve TGNC communities. Brandon Johnson will work with leaders in his administration, as well as key partners on the County Board and in Springfield to ensure that Chicago, and all of Illinois, makes a significant investment in the needs and wellbeing of TGNC residents. Brandon will also fulfill the current administration's promise to help build and invest in the new Southside LGBTQ Center project.  

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Ensure that multiple streams of funding are made available to provide resources to LGBTQ individuals outside of HIV and AIDS

While we must find ways to further our goal of Getting to Zero, failing to provide additional opportunities for community organizations looking to serve LGBTQ people outside of HIV prevention perpetuates antiquated and bigoted modes of thinking about the community. Brandon Johnson will work with all city departments and sister agencies to ensure that multiple streams of funding are made available to provide resources to LGBTQ individuals outside of HIV and AIDS. 

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Preserve LGBTQ cultural cornerstones

From house music to drag queens to legendary performers in the ballroom scene, Chicago has produced some of the most iconic and impactful LGBTQ activists and performers in the world. As mayor, Brandon Johnson will ensure that substantial investments are made in preserving and nurturing the parts of our city that have created these cultural cornerstones. LGBTQ history is Chicago history. 

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Stewardship of Resources

LGBTQ people are disproportionately represented in public service work, and often experience the economic burdens of community work. Brandon Johnson will work with the Chicago City Council to ensure that any agency in Chicago that receives public funds to serve a special or protected population follows a set of ethics guidelines that ensure its workers are being paid fairly, treated properly and protected against discrimination in the workplace. 

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For far too long, LGBTQ community resources have been concentrated in one part of our city. As mayor, Brandon Johnson will work with community agencies on the South and West sides to ensure that all LGBTQ people have access to quality, adequately funded resources that truly represent them, rather than being forced to travel for an hour or more to the North Side to receive needed services. 

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