State legislators passed a law last week making it easier for people to change their name in Illinois.
The legislation repeals a former requirement that name changes be published in a newspaper, according to the bill. Twenty-five other states don’t have this requirement, including Texas and Florida.
The bill also sets a three-month Illinois residency requirement to petition a judge for a name change and allows people to request that their name change records be kept private in cases where public disclosure could negatively impact their health or safety.
The bill was sponsored by State Rep. Kevin Olickal (16h District) and state Sen. Ram Villivalam (8th District). It was supported by advocates for transgender people and domestic abuse survivors.
“Our most vulnerable communities deserve to make changes to personal identifiable information in private and without worry of their safety or well-being,” Villivalam said in a statement. “By eliminating the requirement to publish a name change with a local newspaper, we are ensuring that our residents, such as domestic violence survivors, are safe and supported when seeking such change.”
Olickal said in a statement the bill “represents an important step forward in protecting the privacy and safety of survivors of violence, transgender individuals and others who face significant risks during the name change process.”
The legislation was introduced in February 2024 and passed the Illinois House of Representatives 67-39 in April 2024. The Senate approved the legislation with a vote of 33-16 on Jan. 5, and the House concurred with a final vote of 71-38 on Jan. 7.
Gov. JB Pritzker is expected to sign the bill into law.
The bill was supported by a number of LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, including the ACLU of Illinois, AIDS Foundation Chicago, Brave Space Alliance, Equality Illinois, Howard Brown Health and Transformative Justice Law Project of Illinois.
“Having to publish your name change in a newspaper creates a public list of trans people and puts them at real risk for harassment and harm,” said Michael Ziri, director of public policy at Equality Illinois. “We know this bill will help people and is consistent with our state’s values of equality and the freedom to live our lives without harassment or harm.”
Avi Rudnick, director of legal services at the Transformative Justice Law Project of Illinois, said the group has helped more than 4,000 residents with gender-affirming name changes, including more than 900 in 2024.
Passing the legislation will “have a significant impact on the safety of transgender people as we seek self-determination through the legal name change process,” Rudnick said.
“We are excited about these changes, and we know that this will have a positive impact on our communities as we move into these unprecedented times,” Rudnick said.
The post Illinois expected to remove barriers for name changes appeared first on Windy City Times.