The following can be attributed to Khadine Bennett, Advocacy and Intergovernmental Affairs Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois:
 
“No Illinois resident should face the choice between their health and making their voice heard in the 2020 election. Voting is the most fundamental way in which we give voice to our views – it must be protected.  
 
Because of this basic precept, we applaud Governor Pritzker for signing Senate Bill 1863 into law today, and express deep appreciation for the members of the General Assembly who voted to approve the measure. The bill supports our election in 2020, by expanding critical access to early voting and vote by mail. These measures and others will help assure that the election process moves smoothly even if we continue to struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic. But the new law also supports elections in the future – by standing up a strong public education campaign that should help every Illinois resident understand how they can assure their vote is counted, and by expanding participation as voting judges for 16- and 17-year old Illinoisans. Engaging young people early will make voting a habit for life – building voter participation across future years. 
 
Finally, we welcome making Election Day 2020 a statewide holiday. We hope that all Illinois residents will use it to celebrate our electoral process, and find ways to help those in need get to the polls. We will be a stronger state because of this new law.” 

The below statement can be attributed to John Knight, LGBTQ & HIV Advocacy Project Director, ACLU of Illinois: 

"Today’s decision is a crucial victory for LGBTQ people – a group that continues to face widespread discrimination in the workplace and in many other aspects of our lives. We owe a huge debt for this win to the Black and Brown transgender women who been leading the fight against discrimination, as well as police brutality, for more than a half century. Our debt extends as well to the courage and unflagging determination of Aimee Stephens and Don Zarda. I only wish that Aimee and Don were here to see the victory for themselves.

The Supreme Court today ruled that employers cannot fire or otherwise discriminate against LGBTQ people in the workplace just because of who they are. But let’s not forget that still there is still work to do. We need Congress to put an end to other types of discrimination LGBTQ people continue to face, including discrimination in access to public accommodations, federal programs, and more. That's why we will continue to call on Congress to pass the Equality Act."

Last week, Catholic Charities based in Joliet and Springfield submitted an amicus brief in a Supreme Court case, Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. The case involves whether a religious organization can demand government contracts to provide child welfare services while refusing to comply with LGBTQ nondiscrimination requirements.

In 2011, these same Illinois-based Catholic Charities groups brought a similar lawsuit in state court in Illinois, arguing they should be able to deny state-funded services contracted to them by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to unmarried couples, even if they entered into a civil union and were otherwise qualified to foster or adopt. 

Because the case pre-dated the Illinois statute that recognizes that everyone, including same-sex couples, have the freedom to marry, Catholic Charities’ policy intentionally classified all same-sex couples as “unqualified” to provide loving homes for children. In the course of the Illinois litigation, child welfare experts offered testimony that allowing this form of discrimination harmed everyone – it deprived Illinois foster children of the care of loving families, and it discriminated against unmarried couples, including those in civil unions and especially same-sex couples who were fully qualified to act as foster or adoptive parents.

In response to the filing by Catholic Charities of Joliet and Springfield in the Fulton case, John Knight, Director of the LGBTQ & HIV Project of the ACLU of Illinois, issued the following statement: 

“It is unsurprising that these Illinois Catholic Charities organizations believe they should be able to use Illinois taxpayer funds to discriminate in violation of the law. They made the same argument nearly a decade ago. They were wrong then, they are wrong now.  

As we demonstrated in court in Illinois years ago, discriminatory policies that exclude LGBTQ parents from fostering and adoption do not protect children. They harm young people. And the best interests of children, not the religious affiliation or history of the provider, should be the sole priority of any child welfare system – including the one in Illinois. 

The Supreme Court should put the children first – children who already have been subject to abuse and neglect – and reject the request of certain groups to use public funds to discrimination on the basis of their specific religious beliefs.”