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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
PROCLAIMING PRIDE MONTH IN COOK COUNTY
WHEREAS, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) Pride Month is celebrated every June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan and works to achieve equal justice and opportunity for LGBTQIA+ Americans, as well as recognize the impact that LGBTQIA+ individuals have had on society at local, national, and international levels; and
WHEREAS, the Stonewall Riots were a series of demonstrations in which members of the LGBTQIA+ community protested police raids and harassment and marked the beginning of the modern LGBTQIA+ rights movement; and
WHEREAS, the first Pride March was held in New York City on June 28, 1970, on the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising; and
WHEREAS, the LGBTQIA+ movement and its allies have fought hard to win the right to one's gender, to marry, and to start families while also continuing to fight against hate speech, hate crimes, and ongoing discrimination targeted at both the personal and legal levels; and
WHEREAS, the current national political environment has created very real legal and physical dangers for the LGBTQIA+ community; and
WHEREAS, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, in 2024, the number of anti-LGBTQ+ groups increased by about 13% from the previous year; and
WHEREAS, according to the ACLU there are over 588 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in the U.S.; and
WHEREAS, according to the ACLU, almost 60 of these introduced anti-LGBTQ+ bills have already passed in several states, including Iowa’s S.F.418 signed by Governor Kim Reynolds on February 28, 2025, that removed “gender identity” protections from discrimination in housing, employment, wages and public accommodations from the state’s civil rights code in addition to removing transgender Iowans’ ability to change their sex designation on a birth certificate after receiving medical transition care.; and
WHEREAS, according to the GLAAD ALERT Desk, in 2024 there at least 918 anti-LGBTQ incidents across the US - the equivalent of 2.5 incidents every day; and
WHEREAS, according to GLAAD, there have been 2,242 attacks on LGBTQ+ individuals since June 2022; and
WHEREAS, according to the February 2025 brief from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law ‘Anti-LGBT Victimization in the United States’, researchers found that recent developments and years of attacks on the LGBTQ+ community can lead to increased violence against LGBTQ+ people; and
WHEREAS, the brief goes on to note that “researchers found that following Trump campaign rallies in 2016, which the authors described as containing hate rhetoric, there was an increase in hate-motivated incidents in the counties where the rallies happened as compared to other counties and the same counties prior to the rally”; and
WHEREAS, the brief also mentions that “Following online attacks on transgender care, hospitals and doctors faced increased harassment, including death threats. This rhetoric and the anti-LGBT sentiments it promotes can lead to adverse mental health outcomes for LGBT people”; and
WHEREAS, Pride Month is observed each year to center the ongoing issues of the community while also celebrating its rich history, successes, stories; and
WHEREAS, a new study from Northeastern University in Boston reveals companies with LGBTQ+ board members outperform their rivals that don’t have the same representation, finding that Fortune 500 companies with LGBTQ+ board members outperform their peers in both financial and non-financial metrics; and
WHEREAS, on May 20, 2025, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed into law H.B. 1296 which bans discrimination against marginalized groups, including LGBTQ+ people, establishes clear complaint procedures for when violations occur, and also limits parental access to children’s health care and counseling information, protecting LGBTQ+ students from being outed to their parents without their consent; and
WHEREAS, on May 13, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision against Florida’s SB 1438 that sought to make it a crime to admit young people to any performance, exhibit, play, or show that the state deems inappropriate - including drag shows - even if the child’s parents think it is appropriate for their family, with the court calling the law overbroad and saying that it attempts to take a “shotgun” to constitutionally protected free speech rights; and
WHEREAS, on April 15, 2025, the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) reaffirmed its current policy that trans athletes can continue to participate in high school sports competitions, despite the demands to exclude trans athletes by the Trump administration and Illinois Republican lawmakers; and
WHEREAS, the annual iconic Chicago Pride Parade is one of the largest Pride events in the country during which residents throughout Cook County, Illinois, and the nation have the opportunity to come together, celebrate, and stand as one with the LGBTQIA+ community, their families, and friends; and
WHEREAS, the Chicago Pride Parade will return for its 54th year with a message of solidarity amid a volatile political climate under the theme of “United in Pride” on June 29, 2025, at 11 a.m.; and
WHEREAS, the LGBTQIA+ community is an important contributor to the diverse and vibrant communities across Cook County and as such Cook County must continue to loudly and proudly fight to affirm, welcome, and protect this community; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners does hereby proclaim June 2025 to be Pride Month in Cook County; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the President and the Cook County Board of Commissioners does hereby recommit to strengthening the advancement of equity for the LGBTQIA+ community across Cook County.
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