ELGIN — Gay and transgender youth and adults in Illinois will receive fairness and compassion from a new state law sponsored by Rep. Anna Moeller.

Moeller today announced Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed into law House Bill 264, requiring classroom instruction about the history and contributions of the LGBQT community in Illinois schools.

Read Rep. Moeller’s statement for more information on this important issue. For more on the legislation, click here:

"Today is an important and historic day for fairness and compassion in Illinois. I was proud to sponsor House Bill 246 and am delighted to see it become Illinois law.

"The new law’s goal is simple: to understand that people from different backgrounds deserve the same opportunity to learn and be recognized for their contributions in society as everyone else.

"Historically, gay and transgender people have been treated as second-class citizens: persecuted, discriminated against and forgotten. As our society has evolved to rectify these injustices, our school teaching should as well. I hope Illinois schools will embrace the opportunity to show that we all are equal and valuable through this commonsense update to their curriculum.

Illinois becomes the 5th state in the nation and first in the Midwest to adopt this change. I thank Gov. Pritzker for his leadership in signing and supporting this legislation, Sen. Heather Steans for her leadership in the Senate, my colleagues in the Legislature who voted for it, and the dedicated advocates – led by Equality Illinois, the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance, and the Legacy Project – for their commitment to ending discrimination and helping cut through the uninformed and misguided arguments on House Bill 246.

"I look forward to continue working on legislation that recognizes we all matter, and we all deserve to be able to live happily and find our own path forward."