CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois is making it easier for gay couples to marry and moving toward gender-inclusive language in laws affecting LGBTQ+ youth in foster care through two new laws signed Friday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. They will become effective on Jan. 1, 2024 and on Aug. 8, respectively. Illinois is one of several U.S. states that has worked to reinforce LGBTQ+ rights, as others advance bills that target the community. The two new pro-LGBTQ+ Illinois laws were signed about a week into Pride month, a season intended to celebrate the lives and experiences of LGBTQ+ communities, but which this year takes place in a contentious political climate.

By CLAIRE SAVAGE – Associated Press

*Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker smiles during a bill signing ceremony Monday, March 13, 2023, in Chicago. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday, June 9, 2023, signed into law two measures aimed at safeguarding the rights of LGBTQ+ people as other states move to restrict the community, just days after the Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)