CHICAGO — On Wednesday, May 1 at 10 a.m., eight transgender women will file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of certain statutory restrictions on name changes in the State of Illinois as applied to them.
The current Illinois Name Change Statute is one of the most restrictive in the country, requiring individuals convicted of a felony to wait ten years following the completion and discharge of their sentence. The law also institutes a permanent ban on legal name changes for certain felony and misdemeanor convictions. The plaintiffs challenge these restrictions as an unconstitutional infringement of their rights of speech, self-expression and due process.
Reyna Ortiz and Eisha Love, two of the plaintiffs in the Illinois suit as well as Lark Mulligan, counsel for the plaintiffs, and other members of the legal team will participate in a press availability at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the media area of the Dirksen United States Courthouse lobby.
The plaintiffs are represented by the Transformative Justice Law Project ( TJLP ) and Greenberg Traurig, LLP, who will file suit on their behalf in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois prior to the press availability.
A similar lawsuit will be filed at the same time by Adele D. Nicholas and Mark G. Weinberg on behalf of Karen Krebs, a Wisconsin transgender woman, challenging prohibitions in Wisconsin's name change legislation. They will also participate in Wednesday's press availability.
Interested media should RSVP to Shannon Craig Straw by email: scstraw@westendstrategy.com to confirm coverage plans. Interview opportunities with plaintiffs may also be available.
Present will be Reyna Ortiz ( she/her ) and Eisha Love ( she/her ), two of the plaintiffs in the Illinois suit, Lark Mulligan ( she/her ), counsel for the Illinois plaintiffs and Transformative Justice Law Project collective member, Karen Krebs ( she/her ), the plaintiff in the Wisconsin suit, Adele D. Nicholas ( she/her ) and Mark G. Weinberg ( he/him ), counsel for the Wisconsin plaintiffs
The event will take place in the Press area in the lobby of the Dirksen United States Courthouse, 219 S. Dearborn St.
—From a press release