The Illinois secretary of state's office has the two highest ranking out lesbians in any branch of state government. The newly appointed chief of the Illinois Secretary of State Police is Sydney Thomas, who formerly was the chief deputy chief of police. Meanwhile, Ellen A. Meyers is the deputy director of intergovernmental affairs for Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, a post she's held since 1999. Meyers is a 2001 inductee into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.
Ellen A. Meyers and her longtime partner, Elena Yatzceck, eloped Dec. 1, 2014, fittingly coinciding with World AIDS Day.
"It was a very meaningful day for me, on multiple levels," said Meyers, a Maryland native who lives in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood.
Meyers, after all, has spent decades supporting human-rights laws, persons affected by HIV/AIDS or aging, and electoral involvement, among other major, often personal missions.
"I am so very fortunate; I have been very lucky with this job, to work for a great guy, Secretary [Jesse] White. It's been wonderful. He's been extremely supportive," said Meyers, whose work has included considerable time on the passage of the state's human-rights bill. "The secretary was one of the original sponsors of this legislation."
Meyers' long career has included many milestone moments and key roles and duties. She was, at a time, the highest-placed out lesbian in the executive branch of Illinois state government. She served as liaison for lesbian and gay issues in the Cook County state's attorney's office, and more.
Trans issues have been a key interest of support, too.
"Sixteen years ago, it was [relatively unknown] what office you'd go to in the state to be able to get your name changed and/or your gender [marker] changed on your license or state ID," she said.
That's not true anymore. Now, applicants can even change their gender designation on IDs online.
Meyers said those changes, for instance, are a "reflection of the journey that our community has [taken]."
Marriage equality for same-sex couples also, of course, is now legal in Illinois, "which is something I never thought we'd have in my lifetime," she admitted.
"The primary part of my job that I do [nowadays] is, I work, design and develop programs with correctional entities—federal, state and certain counties—and I work with people and staff for people who are incarcerated as well as federal, state and county parolees and probationers for when they come out," Meyers said. "The focus is, what you need [to do] to get a state ID and license reinstatement."
The work, she said, "is very important. … We want to make this as smooth as possible, so the applicant has success with the government agency, which they probably haven't" in the past.
In recent years, Meyers also has worked extensively with the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, mostly around the issues of state IDs and license re-instatement. She also has worked with the Cook County Juvenile Probation Office.
And whenever applicable, she's always talking about gender identity, she said.
Jesse White is the state librarian, so Meyers "thought we needed more LGBT authors in our collections at the Illinois State Library," she said. "To my knowledge, we are the only state library in the U.S. that has a specific collection for [the state's] LGBT authors."
Meyers, who has been out at every job she's held, said her current work is "very, very rewarding, and I'm very thankful to Secretary of State White for really supporting me and this work."
Also in her job, Meyers has worked with the Illinois Department of Corrections on a two-year project to identify growth industries in Illinois, where somebody with a criminal background could get training and employment and advance within that profession, she said.
That work also has expanded into some community colleges and elsewhere.
As for Sydney Thomas, Meyers said she is "thrilled" for Thomas' recent promotion. "She brings a lot of leadership to that position," Meyers said.
Meyers said being out in a high-profile post "is something I take with great pride," but it certainly comes with a great deal of responsibility. "I am always really focused on my job, what I'm supposed to be doing, and at the same time, I know that I am representing the LGBT community in a position of policy-making and authority within state government that can really affect a lot of people's lives," she said.
