Governor of Illinois announces new LGBTQ+ helpline: ‘We will fight cruelty with compassion’
Governor JB Pritzker personally shared the news about the new helpline (@GovPritzker)
Governor JB Pritzker personally shared the news about the new helpline (@GovPritzker)
The state of Illinois has launched a new hotline for members of the LGBTQ+ community, with governor JB Pritzker saying the Prairie State would fight “cruelty with compassion”.
News of Illinois Pride Connect was announced at the end of last week. It will provide legal advice to LGBTQ+ people as well as for concerned family members and friends on issues including access to health care, discrimination, identity documents and housing.
The helpline’s website highlights that services are available in English and Spanish, and trained advocates are ready to speak to callers, offering one-time advice or they can refer them to legal partners. The launch comes after president Donald Trump’s administration shut down a federal helpline that provided suicide prevention support for LGBTQ+ youngsters.
“For us to be able to go on offence, and not be on defence, is what I love about this state,” Democrat Pritzker, who previously dismissed Trump as a “cruel bully”, said in a video on his official social media account. “Illinois is launching a first-of-its-kind legal hotline for LGBTQ+ individuals.
“Building on the state’s transgender and gender-diverse wellness and equity project [that] we launched at the beginning of 2024, we will be the only state in the nation [to] provide free legal advice to protect the LGBTQ+ community.
“Illinois Pride Connect will provide resources on health care and education, on immigration, social services, family protections and beyond. It will answer frequently asked questions and inform individuals of their rights and provide advocacy tools.
“Together, we are fighting ignorance with information, and cruelty with compassion.”
Illinois is launching a first-of-its-kind legal hotline for LGBTQ+ individuals — Illinois Pride Connect.
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) August 22, 2025
As the only state in the nation that will provide free legal advice to protect the LGBTQ+ community, we'll help fight ignorance with information and cruelty with compassion. pic.twitter.com/TdSsWs3ib8
The helpline has been funded using a $250,000 (£185,000) investment from the state and $100,000 (£74,000) in donations. Not-for-profit organisations, including the Illinois Department of Health and Human Services, the Legal Council for Health Justice, and Equality Illinois, gave money.
Julie Justicz, an executive director at the Legal Council for Health Justice, told the Chicago Sun*Times that the aim was to “build and strengthen supports, especially for folks in the downstate areas”. During a trial period, many of the calls were from residents in the south of the state, she added.
“I imagine volume will increase… [but] we are prepared.”
Illinois Pride Connect follows closure of federal LGBTQ+ “suicide hotline”
The federal LGBTQ+ Youth Specialised Service hotline, known as Press 3 Option, was set up in conjunction with The Trevor Project, and became part of the wider national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
In April, leaked details of budget cuts revealed the Trump administration planned to close the LGBTQ+-dedicated part of the service.
Despite warnings that such a move would endanger vulnerable young people, Republicans pushed ahead and announced in June that the service would shut “within 30 days”.
Chief executive of The Trevor Project Jaymes Black said he was “devastated and heart-broken” to confirm the helpline would close, pointing out that “life-saving services to more than 1.3 million LGBTQ+ young people will no longer be available for those who need it”.
Black went on to say: “Suicide prevention is about people, not politics. The administration’s decision to remove a bipartisan, evidence-based service that has effectively supported a high-risk group of young people through their darkest moments is incomprehensible.”
Illinois Pride Connect operates from 9am to 4pm on Mondays to Thursdays and can be contacted at ilprideconnect.org or by calling 855-805-9200.
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