MetroEast

Judge orders Illinois to review transgender inmate’s move request

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EAST ST. LOUIS — A federal judge has ruled that the Illinois Department of Corrections must look at all evidence for a transgender inmates request to be moved. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Rosenstengel said the Illinois Department of Corrections’ Transgender Care Review Committee must consider all evidence for and against transferring 27-year-old Strawberry Hampton to a women’s facility. Hampton has been requesting a move for months. From the Sun-Times:
Rosenstengel also gave the department 14 days to tell the court how it plans to train all correctional staff on transgender issues.

MetroEast

Transgender inmate sues Illinois to change prisons

By , Publisher/blogger |

EAST ST. LOUIS — A transgender woman at a northern Illinois men’s prison is suing the state corrections department to be housed at a women’s prison, according to WGN TV. The Chicago TV station reported that Deon “Strawberry” Hampton has sued the Illinois Department of Corrections before. They have have been moved to four different prisons in the past year. Hampton has said they’ve suffered abuse at several male prisons.

Central Illinois
Equality Illinois

Equality Illinois LGBTQ Town Halls launch in Central and Southern Illinois

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NORMAL — With Illinoisans facing uncertainty about LGBTQ rights in the Trump era and push back in some parts of the state as they try to assert their rights, Equality Illinois LGBTQ Town Halls launch Tuesday night in Bloomington-Normal and continue Wednesday night in Peoria. Future town halls are scheduled in Carbondale and the Metro East area. “The laws that guarantee legal equality in Illinois still do not always create a true, open, lived equality for the state’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people and our families,” said Brian C. Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois. “It’s not enough to simply join the fight against the anti-LGBTQ actions of the Trump administration in Washington. We must simultaneously build a more fair and just Illinois.”