Job discrimination against gays is now illegal in Illinois.
A point worth reminding folks here:
It is legal under federal law to fire, not hire, or not promote someone simply because they're gay and you don't like it. Anti-gay job discrimination is not illegal under federal law, and it is not illegal under the US Constitution.
A lot of people, straight and gay, don't realize this. They think "discrimination" is illegal in American, and certainly banned in the Constitution. It's not. That's why we had to pass a federal civil rights act in 1964, but that act only covers the categories of citizens ACTUALLY LISTED in the act, it does NOT cover everyone. Here's what the 1964 Civil Rights Act actually says about job discrimination:
It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.That's it. The law does NOT ban job discrimination generally, it only bans job discrimination in THOSE CATEGORIES, and therefore does not ban job discrimination based on sexual orientation (or lots of other things).
That is why we've been fighting for so many years for state and local, and federal, laws banning job discrimination based on sexual orientation. Some people claim that gays are seeking these laws to get "special rights," basically because many of those critics actually think it's ALREADY ILLEGAL under federal law to fire someone for being gay. Thus, they don't understand why we want ANOTHER law to provide us protection they think we already have - we must be getting some extra, something "special," in this additional law, they think. But the truth is, it is LEGAL under federal law to fire someone for being gay. That's why we've been seeking those laws.
It's an important point, and one that, as I said, even many gay people don't realize. It is legal under federal law to fire someone simply because they're gay. And while some states now ban anti-gay job discrimination, such discrimination is still legal in 33 or so states.
One final point: A number of cities have passed ordinances banning such job discrimination. And that's great. But it only helps you if you live in that particular city.
Now you know.
