Covering LGBTQ and social justice across Illinois - Covering LGBTQ and social justice across Illinois

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) on Sunday reported 3,292 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 40 additional deaths. Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,101,819 cases, including 18,750 deaths. As of Saturday night, 2,994 in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 617 patients were in the ICU and 321 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of…

Equality Illinois will be holding their annual gala virtually this year and celebrating their 30th anniversary. The Gala starts at 7 p.m. CST on Saturday, Feb. 6, and is presented by the Molson Coors Beverage Company. This year, the LGBTQ rights group will honor Imani Rupert-Gordon, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights and former executive director of Affinity Community Services in Chicago; the late United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; and the Broadway Youth Center, a…

Yesterday, the seventeen-year-old dancer, actress, singer, YouTuber, named JoJo Siwa, came out on twitter wearing a t-shirt that said, "Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever. ; https://twitter.com/itsjojosiwa/status/1352719582977355777. Support flooded in my other LGBTQ celebrities including Todrick Hall, Ellen Degeneres, and Lil Nas X. She discussed her this coming out in an IG live chat today. When questioned on her labels, she replied, " "I have thought about this, but the reason I'm not going to say this answer is…

SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) on Thursday announced Region 6 is returning to Phase 4 of the Restore Plan and Region 7 is advancing to Tier 1.  Information about which tier and phase regions are in can be found at the top of the IDPH website homepage.   Region 6 includes Champaign, Clark, Clay, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, De Witt, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Iroquois, Jasper, Lawrence, Macon, Moultrie, Piatt, Richland, Shelby and Vermillion counties. Region 7 includes…

BLOOMINGTON – Illinois Prairie Community Foundation (IPCF) announced Thursday that it will accept applications for grants in three categories from Feb. 1-26. Interested applicants may find information about the grants on IPCF’s website along with links to the online applications. The categories are general, arts and Jewish education and culture. The foundation said it expects to award more than $120,000 during this grant round. The grants provide support to local programs that benefit local residents. “There are…

WASHINGTON — In one of the first executive orders of the new administration, President Joe Biden announced a policy of preventing and fighting discrimination against LGBTQ people. Although the majority of executive orders issued Wednesday were focused on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, Biden's order on LGBTQ was expansive. "It is the policy of my Administration to prevent and combat discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation, and to fully enforce Title VII and other laws that prohibit…