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Evanston, Ill. Enacts TG ProtectionsContributed by Doreen A and Elizabeth Parker July 28, 1997 The Evanston City Council made history as Evanston became the first city in Illinois to extend human rights protection to their transgendered residents and visitors. The Council voted unanimously in favor of Ordinance 61-O-97, which adds transgendered individuals as a protected class to their Human Rights Ordinance. This ordinance prohibits discrimination in employment, public accommodation and housing. Evanston is located north of Chicago and is the home of Northwestern University. This historic vote was the result of representatives of It's Time, Illinois! (ITI), a transgendered political advocacy organization, meeting with Paula Haynes, Director of the Human Relations Commission in Evanston. Ms. Haynes was immediately receptive to inclusion since she has received complaints of discrimination of this type through her offices. The effort was spearheaded by Miranda Stevens, vice-chair of ITI. After meetings with Ms. Haynes the issue was brought before the Human Relations Commission. ITI suggested that sexual orientation be defined in the Human Rights Ordinance as encompassing both affectional relationships and gender identity. The Commission unanimously voted to adopt ITI's inclusive language and to present it to City Council as an amendment to the Evanston City Code. The proposed ordinance was first presented on July 7, 1997, by David Bradford, Chair of the Human Relations Commission, to Evanston's Human Services Commiittee, which is made up of 5 City Council members. At this meeting, ITI's report on hate crimes and discrimination was presented to all committee members. Testimony was presented by several members of ITI, as well as Drs. Fred and Randi Ettner who are both Evanston residents who have many transgendered patients in their medical and psychiatric practices. Also testifying was Ellie and Louis Altman who are parents of a female to male transsexual son. The Human Services Committee voted unanimously to present the measure to the City Council for action on July 28, 1997. At the July 28 meeting, nearly 2 dozen supporters from the transgender and gay community were present. During the citizen comment portion of the meeting, six people stood up and spoke to support the measure. David Bradford, chair of the Human Relations Commission spoke first and framed the ordinance. Miranda Stevens then explained who transgendered people are and why this protection is needed. She said, "For most of you, this is the first time you've encountered a transgendered person, outside of stereotypical caricatures on television or movies. We hope that by the end of the evening, we would have put a more human face on our community." Next a transgendered Evanston resident and an MBA student, who had never come out before, spoke of the fear of discrimination she lives with every day, and how she fears for her job if she was "outed". A statement followed this from a transsexual woman who works in Evanston. She spoke about how this was not "special" rights but equal and that she would feel more secure with this protection. Rick Garcia, who is the Executive Director of the Illinois Federation for Human Rights, spoke on how his statewide organization supports the transgender community and how "arbitrary discrimination is immoral and should be illegal". Ellie Altman, the founder of the first support group for parents of transgender children, was the last to comment. She said, "We are your neighbors, your friends." She spoke of how she was struck by the fact that so many transgendered children are rejected by their own families. She proudly showed a framed 8 x 10 photograph of her son as he received his Ph.D. degree. Before the vote, Alderman Joseph Kent, chair of the Human Services Committee, spoke eloquently about the leadership that Evanston has always taken on human rights and that this issue was "huge". He acknowledged that this ordinance would not completely take away the pain and difficulty that transgender people deal with in their lives. But with this protection, they can work to support themselves and their families. He said that every suburb and city and state must understand that we are all human beings first and deserve the same rights. Alderman Gene Feldman said that he was "proud" that Evanston was the first Illinois community to include this protection. While he confessed that he could not possibly understand what it must be like to live as a transgendered person, this ordinance is a "vital and important beginning" to the long struggle of achieving equal rights for all transgendered individuals. When one of the council suggested that employment discrimination be removed from consideration, Alderman Feldman made an impassioned plea, saying "That would cut the heart out of the ordinance." The council then unanimously voted (9-0) to pass the ordinance. The gallery stood up and applauded the city council for their decision. "This is why we founded ITI nearly two years ago", said Stephanie Young - chair and co-founder of ITI. "The credit for this goes to all the members of ITI and the transgendered community who have supported us. We also need to thank the gay, lesbian, and bi-sexual organizations that have supported us as well. It is truly a group effort." "It has been a remarkable experience working with the people of Evanston," said Ms. Stevens. "The Human Relations Commission and the City Council demonstrated a depth of understanding and compassion for humanity which is truly remarkable in this day and age. They should be very proud of what they achieved tonight." "This is a very forward decision by Evanston" stated Janice Galeckas - Secretary/Treasurer and co-founder of ITI. "It can be a template by which other towns can step forward and grant protection to all citizens." ITI is now focusing on it's efforts in Oak Park, followed by Cook county and the City of Chicago. In addition ITI is working with the Illinois Federation on inclusive language for the sexual orientation amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act. For more information contact:
It's Time, Illinois!  |