Illinois' Name Change Modernization Act, HB2542, was the focus of a March 15 virtual event that Chicago Therapy Collective (CTC), Indivisible Illinois and Young Democrats of Illinois (YDI) hosted.
Introduced in February 2021 by Illinois state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, HB2542 passed in the Illinois House on April 22, 2021, with a wide bipartisan margin and is currently in the Illinois Senate Assignments Committee awaiting further movement.
HB2542 has the support of more than three dozen community organizations across Illinois. The bill amends state law to remove the barriers for disadvantaged trans and non-binary Illinoisians to change their names on official documents. This would give them greater employment opportunities, healthcare and educational access, ability to vote and ease in interacting in numerous public spaces.
CTC's Lisa Gilmore and Iggy Ladden kicked off the event. Ladden spoke about the wave of anti-trans legislation in GOP-controlled states and said that if anyone is in need of mental health support during these upsetting times they should contact the CTC.
Gilmore introduced keynote speaker Illinois state Sen. Mike Simmons (one of the many HB2542 state Senate co-sponsors). Simmons spoke about the slides that were shown before the event began that highlighted the ways HB2542 was essential and would help trans and non-binary Illinoisans.
"That is how we should be advocating for this legislation," said Simmons. "We cannot give anybody any excuses for not understanding our issues and the systemic impact on our people so thank you for doing that."
Simmons added that HB2542 is one of his top priorities. He lauded Illinois state Sen. Robert Peters for sponsoring the bill in the Senate and Cassidy for getting it passed in the House. Simmons said they will continue to fight for this in the Senate because "it is long overdue" for trans and non-binary Illinoisans can be full and equal citizens of the state.
Chicago House Legal Director and staff attorney Elizabeth Ricks and volunteer attorney Cortney Redman gave an overview of what the bill will accomplish.
Ricks said Illinois current name change law is the second most restrictive of all 50 states and "there are three restrictions regarding criminal records including those with felony convictions who are unable to change their name for ten years after the last date of their last sentence so once parole is finished, people with identity-theft convictions can never change their name and folks who have to register on one of the three criminal registries we havearson, sex offense and murder and violence against youth who cannot change their name for the entire period they have to register and for most folks that equates to a lifetime ban.
"The bill will remove the ten year waiting period for those who have finished their prison/probation sentence, remove the identity-theft ban and change the restrictions on registries so folks who are required to register it would indicate that on the form and also indicate if they are changing their name for religious reasons, marriage, gender related identity or if they are a survivor of human trafficking. What that would do is get that person in front of a judge and the judge would get to decide whether this person can change their name or not. The paperwork they would file asking for a name change would also go to the states attorney's office and that office would be able to file an objection and come to the hearing. This is a door-opening change."
Redman spoke about the procedural changes that would uncomplicate the process in myriads of ways including getting a waiver for the newspaper publication requirement and remove the third-party signature requirement.
Eisha Love and Reyna Ortiz provided personal testimony about the ways in which the current state laws have negatively impacted their lives.
Love said this bill will help her immensely because as a convicted felon (who was incarcerated in a men's jail) she is currently unable to change her name and "be a productive citizen." She added that this hinders her ability to work and interact with the outside world because her documents do not reflect her gender identity. Some of the ways this has had a negative effect on Love's life is renting an apartment, obtaining long-term employment and socializing in settings that require an ID for entry.
Ortiz spoke about how 21 years ago she was convicted of identity theft when she was a sex worker. She added that when she heard about the ten year waiting period provision she applied to get her name changed she was denied multiple times due to current state laws. Ortiz said she was "devastated" and that it was a "black cloud that hovers over you and impacts getting a library card, getting an ID, going to the club." She said that these past six years she has had to challenge herself and that is how she came to work with the Transformative Justice Law Project helping trans youth get their names changed.
ACLU Advocacy Director Khadine Bennett said that this bill is stalled in part because state Senators are hesitant to vote for any, what they deem controversial, bills due to the upcoming election and the ways redistricting changed their district boundaries. She added that this is the last four weeks of the current legislative session and the bill is not likely to move out of committee at this time. Bennett said that the bill can also be brought to the floor during the veto and lame-duck sessions later this calendar year.
YDI's Quinne Welter also spoke.
Redman called on attendees to visit www.aclu-il.org/en/legislation/hb-2542-remove-felony-bar-individuals-seeking-name-change-1 for information on contacting their state Senator to ask them to support HB2542.