News & Commentary

Earlier today, the Illinois Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Kris Fulkerson, a woman seeking to exercise her rights as a step-parent under Illinois Civil Union Act. Ms. Fulkerson entered into a civil union with the father of the child, and acted as a step-parent to the child prior to the father’s death. An appellate court denied Ms. Fulkerson the ability to seek rights as a step-parent because she and her partner had entered into a civil union, rather than a marriage. Today’s decision reverses that decision. 

Cristina Nichole Iglesias has been denied critical medical care, raped, physically and sexually abused, and even held hostage during her time housed in federal corrections facilities for men. Ms. Iglesias’ victimization is a direct result of the federal Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) refusal to recognize Ms. Iglesias as the woman she is and to provide her the health care and the security that she desperately needs. A copy of the complaint filed today can be found here.

The State of Illinois has not made the bulk of the changes to provision of medical care for transgender individuals in state prison ordered by a federal judge nine months ago. Instead, several Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) officials now admit that they have largely disregarded the court’s order and continue to deny transgender individuals the health care they need. This causes these individuals continued suffering, leading to harmful self-treatment efforts or even suicide attempts. Because the State has failed to act, transgender prisoners now are asking the judge who ordered the changes last year to appoint an independent monitor to oversee that IDOC finally make the necessary changes. The request comes in a filing today in the case Monroe v. Jeffreys pending in the Southern District of Illinois.  Following a two-day hearing in 2019, Judge Nancy Rosenstengel ordered IDOC to overhaul its medical care for transgender prisoners. Foremost among the changes, the Judge ordered IDOC to immediately cease making medical treatment decisions by an internal committee made up of people with no relevant experience or expertise and whose members never even met with patients. In depositions this summer, IDOC officials who are members of this committee acknowledged that it still makes medical decisions relating to hormone therapy and surgery. IDOC officials also admitted that women who are transgender continue to be kept in male prisons and routinely strip-searched by male guards, despite the court’s order that they avoid these searches. “Janiah, Sora, Sasha, Marilyn, and Lydia, and the class of more than one hundred transgender individuals they represent, continue to be denied the crucial medical care they need,” said John Knight, LGBTQ Project Director at the ACLU of Illinois. “In addition, the State’s refusal to recognize these women as who they are by routinely keeping them in male prisons where they are searched by men is humiliating and causes them extreme and life-threatening suffering. The situation for transgender men is similarly concerning.”  “IDOC has demonstrated that it simply cannot do this work by itself with the urgency necessary – an independent monitor is the only apparent way to protect the health and safety of our clients.” Despite representations to the court earlier this year that IDOC was ending certain practices and making progress in complying with other changes the court ordered, the statements of IDOC officials – made under oath – belie those claims. Despite telling the court that the committee was no longer making medical decisions, Dr. Melvin Hinton, the Chief of Mental Health, testified in June that the committee continues to decide when a transgender prisoner begins hormone therapy and whether a transgender prisoner should undergo gender-affirming surgery.  The Court also ordered IDOC to provide prisoners with clothing and grooming items for social transition treatment. But, again, Dr. Hinton testified that IDOC and the committee continue to deny electrolysis and other forms of gender-affirming social transition.   Another member of the committee – Ms. Tangenise Porter – acknowledged that she was still being asked by other committee members for her to weigh-in on medical treatment decisions for transgender prisoners, including decisions about housing, and without being given any guidance or standards for making such decisions. “Nine months have passed without meaningful change for our clients in IDOC,” added Knight. “More concerning, the State continues to assert to the court that they are making changes, despite the testimony of those charged with fixing the system. We simply cannot wait for more promises and more empty words. We need an independent monitor now.” Plaintiffs in this case are represented by the ACLU, along with lawyers from Kirkland & Ellis, King & Spalding, and Kennedy Hunt, P.C.

Today, the Pritzker administration announced it had released legal guidance that affirms Illinois nondiscrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The below statement can be attributed to John Knight, LGBTQ & HIV Advocacy Director, ACLU of Illinois: “We congratulate Governor Pritzker and his Administration for reinforcing their commitment to assuring that all Illinois residents have access to the health care they need, including LGBTQ residents. The specific inclusion of gender-affirming surgery for those insured through Illinois’ Medicaid program is especially welcome. As the Trump Administration continues in its efforts to deny health care and basic dignity to people who are transgender, Illinois is embracing and respecting the dignity of all Illinoisans. No one should be turned away by health care providers or denied the care they need because they are LGBTQ.”

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

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.

Recently, the Affirming and Inclusive Schools Task Force delivered its report Strengthening Inclusion in Illinois Schools to Governor Pritzker detailing the procedures that Illinois schools should adopt to support transgender, nonbinary, and gender non-confirming students. For me, it was an honor to serve on this Task Force alongside the diverse group of educators, students, and advocates who worked on the report. The report’s message is simple: schools in Illinois

Imagine you’re at work and your boss tells you he is firing you because he is “old school” and believes that a woman should really stay home to care for her children. You would think that “he can’t do that. It’s sex discrimination.” Maybe not if a recent court decision is allowed to stand.