A pair of Central Illinois legislators acknowledge the national scene is bleak for members and supporters of the LGBTQ+ community.
But Sen. Dave Koehler of Peoria and Rep. Sharon Chung of Bloomington say Illinois' Democratic supermajority is working to keep the state a beacon of LGBTQ+ support.
In fact, much of the legislation they discussed Monday night at an annual legislative town hall hosted by the Prairie Pride Coalition and Equality Illinois is aimed at keeping in place support that’s being scuttled by the Trump administration.
“We’re just kind of protecting vulnerable populations against some of the possible attacks that might be coming from the federal government,” said Chung.
It’s making Illinois a popular destination for members of that community, according to the pair, who both recounted meeting people who’ve moved from states like Texas and Florida.
Moderator José Che Che Wilson, director of civic engagement at Equality Illinois, said it was something he’d heard as well.
Koehler thinks the situation is temporary.
“As long as we can keep our democracy, we're going to see a change," he said. "We’re going to see this pendulum swing. And so we just have to be ready for that. But in the meantime, there’s Illinois.”
Speaking to a group of about 35 people at Heartland Community College's Astroth Community Education Center, the pair discussed their support of proposed legislation benefiting the LGBTQ+ community.
Among those bills:
- A bill that would tighten privacy around gender listed on driver’s licenses.
- A measure to require health insurance to support hormone therapy — something Chung stressed as important for women’s health care as well as transgender treatments.
- A bill that would prevent the state from tracking hormones such as estrogen and testosterone as part of the Prescription Monitoring program within the Illinois Controlled Substances Act
- A “Bill of Rights” prohibiting discrimination in long-term health care because of sexual orientation or gender identity.
The lawmakers also took questions and comments from the audience on topics ranging from the dangers of “conversion therapy,” as well as statistics around LGBTQ+ migration to Illinois. Other wishes included support for Medicaid and housing issues that disproportionately include the LGBTQ+ population.
Several members of the McLean County Board, Bloomington City Council and others were in attendance, and several booths were outside that included both county clerk candidates — Republican incumbent Kathy Michael and Democratic challenger Joshua Crockett.
Organizers said both Republicans and Democrats were invited to sit on the panel, but local Republican legislators didn’t respond.
Still hopeful
While Chung and Koehler pair decried the situation nationally, both held out hope. Koehler emphasized the federal policies didn’t represent a shift in most people’s beliefs.
“I don’t think that the country has changed so much as it has the Trump political leadership … And we will have a realignment with the politics and where the people are,” he said.
The pair said local actions such as the town hall are important alongside legislation. “Finding those little glimmers of hope that we can sort of grab onto, I think is important in these times,” Chung said.
And Koehler said that at its core, diversity is good.
“Diversity is our strength. Somehow diversity has become a bad name nationally and we’ve politicized it. But diversity means that you respect one another and if there are differences, if there are different thoughts, different lifestyles, whatever, that we appreciate that,” he said.
