CHICAGO, IL – In an exclusive interview with Windy City Times, Governor JB Pritzker reflected on his record of fighting alongside Illinois’ LGBTQ+ community and the Republican Party’s attempts to roll back LGBTQ+ rights.
At a time when Donald Trump and his cronies, including Darren Bailey, are trying to take us backwards, Governor Pritzker is committed to standing up and fighting for an Illinois that welcomes and protects all people.
Read excerpts below:
On Governor Pritzker’s accomplishments for the LGBTQ+ community:
I am very proud that this state really is a beacon for people’s individual rights, which is what I have heard from so many people who’ve moved to Illinois. They said they had to leave Florida, Texas, Missouri, Indiana and other states. They had to come to a state where they know their rights are protected, so I’m proud of how we’ve done it here in Illinois.
We decriminalized HIV [transmission, in 2021]. I have also required the teaching of LGBTQ+ history so that people know who the great leaders have been who’ve led to the LGBTQ+ community having more rights. It was time for us to acknowledge that the LGBTQ+ community has achieved so many great things—not just for themselves, but for our country.
I’m also proud that I have more members of the LGBTQ+ community in my administration than any other in history. And that matters. When you’re a young person, it helps to know that’s something you could achieve and that there are people in positions of power who are thinking about your rights and who are protecting you—and it’s really important that we protect the transgender community. We’re the party of civil rights. That’s one of the reasons I chose to be a Democrat and I have been one my whole life.
On Darren Bailey’s opposition to marriage equality:
There’s a congresswoman from southern Illinois named Mary Miller, who now wants to eliminate Pride Month. She’s literally introduced a bill to eliminate that [and rename June as “Family Month”]. One question that I would pose to my opponent [Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey] is if he agrees with Mary Miller. It’s an important question for him to answer because he is still against marriage equality.
On why representation matters:
In part, it’s about having a government that has actual members of minority communities in powerful positions. That, to me, is representation. That includes elected officials and appointed officials as I can do. If you work with me, I want you to bring your values; please express them in how you act in office.
It’s not like I have some quota that I’m meeting. I believe that our government, broadly speaking, should represent. The swath of 13 million people that live across Illinois—including people in Carbondale, Atlanta, Quincy or Champaign—should be represented at the table.
Full story is available here.
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