title
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
SUPPORTING INTERGOVERNMENTAL COLLABORATION TO BETTER UNDERSTAND AND PREVENT TRANSFEMICIDE
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago ("City"), through ordinance and executive order, has committed to addressing and preventing violence and discrimination against marginalized communities, including the transgender community; and
WHEREAS, Chicago is the deadliest city in the nation for Black trans women; and
WHEREAS, transfemicide, which is the killing of a trans woman because of gender identity, mainly when motivated by transmisogyny, is an example of violence and discrimination that the City has committed to work against; and
WHEREAS, the concept of "chosen family," an idea which refers to a group of individuals who create deep emotional bonds and support systems, often transcending biological or legal ties, often as a result of rejection from a person's biological family due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, leading them to form alternative family structures based on love, acceptance, and mutual support, is recognized as essential within the transgender community, allowing friends and loved ones to celebrate each other's milestones and to support one another in times of crisis; and
WHEREAS, Chicago is home to many community organizations that are well-equipped to meet the needs of trans Chicagoans; and
WHEREAS, the City has acknowledged the importance of collaboration between various government agencies and community organizations in addressing violence and ensuring equity in policy and procedures; and
WHEREAS, the accurate reporting and tracking of hate incidents and hate crimes, including transfemicide, is essential to identifying trends and implementing effective measures to combat violence and discrimination; and
WHEREAS, the City has agreed to establish a working group on transfemicide and protections for the transgender and gender-diverse community, which will be led by the Commissioner of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations in collaboration with the Chicago Police Department and include representatives from the Mayor's Office; the Chicago Commission on Human Relations; the Department of Police; the Department of Family and Support Services, and the Chicago Department of Public Health; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of the City’s working group is to: (i) review and recommend updates to City policies, procedures, training, and directives related to hate incidents and hate crimes that impact the Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) transgender and gender-diverse community by formulating gender-, racial-, and ethno-inclusive, trauma-informed practices that respect the rights of transgender persons and their chosen family; (ii) seek best practices for unified approaches to the issues that the working group seeks to solve, not just in the City, but in the County as well; (iii) to explore solutions to the barriers that chosen family members of transgender victims that keep them from participating in investigative, legal, and support processes traditionally limited to biological family members; and (iv) to explore how best to report incidents of transfemicide, and transfemicide within racial and ethnic communities, to the public; and
WHEREAS, the working group is charged with making every effort to seek the expertise and advice of members of the transgender community and to collaborate with the Cook County government, the Cook County Commission on Human Rights, the Cook County Office of the Medical Examiner, the Cook County Sheriff's Office, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, the Cook County Board of Commissioners, the Illinois Department of Human Rights, and additional stakeholders as deemed helpful in achieving the working group's purposes.
WHEREAS, the City’s working group shall hold at least three community meetings to engage and solicit recommendations with the broader transgender community, holding at least one community meeting on the City's South Side, West Side, and far North Side; and
WHEREAS, the City’s working group is directed to convene by February 28, 2025 and within six months of its convening, the working group shall (i) recommend data points for reports to the public for instances of transfemicide, transfemicide against BIPOC individuals, and hate crimes and hate incidents against transgender, gender-diverse, or non- binary individuals; and (ii) submit a written report to the City’s Committee on Health and Human Relations, detailing its findings and recommendations; and
WHEREAS, the County is committed to addressing and preventing violence and discrimination against marginalized communities, including the transgender community; and
WHEREAS, the County acknowledges that transfemicide, which is the killing of a trans woman because of gender identity, mainly when motivated by transmisogyny, is an example of violence and discrimination that the County supports working against; and
WHEREAS, the County acknowledges the importance of collaboration between various government agencies and community organizations in addressing violence and ensuring equity and desires to support and participate in the City’s working group to seek best practices for unified approaches to the issues that the working group aims to solve, not just in the City, but in the County as well; to explore solutions to the barriers that chosen family members of transgender victims that keep them from participating in investigative, legal, and support processes traditionally limited to biological family members; and to explore how best to report incidents of transfemicide, and transfemicide to the public.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners supports Cook County’s intergovernmental cooperation with the City’s working group and encourages County participation in the City’s working group; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners requests that a representative from the Cook County Department of Ethics and Human Rights, the Cook County Office of the Medical Examiner, the Cook County Department of Public Health, the Cook County Sheriff's Office; and the Cook County State's Attorney's Office be identified by each of these respective offices to collaborate with the City’s working group; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the designated County agency representatives and members of the Board of Commissioners wishing to participate in the working group shall contact the City’s Commissioner of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations on or before February 15th to offer collaboration; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Chair of the Cook County Committee on Human Relations shall request a copy of the City’s report from the City’s Chair of the Committee on Health and Human Relations so that the report may be distributed to the Cook County Board of Commissioners for informational purposes and to explore further how the County may implement best practices for unified approaches to the issues that the working group seeks to solve; to explore solutions to the barriers that chosen family members of transgender victims that keep them from participating in investigative, legal, and support processes traditionally limited to biological family members; and to explore how best to report incidents of transfemicide, and transfemicide to the public.
end