Equal Rights	Issue Pages: TIFs Preserving Cook County Hospital Health Care Taxes and Fiscal Responsibility Environment Equal Rights Women's Issues

Domestic Partners
Commissioner Quigley promised in his first campaign for the County Board that he would sponsor and pass legislation to provide benefits to domestic partners of county employees. The commissioner followed through on that promise his first year in office, when he introduced and passed the Domestic Partnership Benefits ordinance that provides full benefits to domestic partners of county employees.

In his second term, Commissioner Quigley continued to work towards full equal rights for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Community in Cook County by passing a Domestic Partnership Registry ordinance. Commissioner Quigley worked with community advocates to draft an ordinance that details how domestic partners can register their relationship with the County Clerk's office. The Domestic Partnership Registry is a way for the County to officially recognize same-sex relationships, as well as to help make it easier for companies within Cook County to offer domestic partnership benefits.

Anti-Discrimination Measures
Commissioner Quigley continuously works with a coalition of LGBT advocates to make sure that the County does not do business with groups that discriminate against the LGBT community. For example, when the County considered the Salvation Army for a contract to provide counseling services, Commissioner Quigley made sure that this contract was removed from the agenda because of the Salvation Army's discriminatory practices. Commissioner Quigley also led the fight to prevent the Cook County Forest Preserve District from entering into a long term lease with the Boy Scouts of America because of their discriminatory practices.

Commissioner Quigley's past successes on LGBT issues led Illinois Gender Advocates to approach him about sponsoring an ordinance to add gender identity to the County's Human Rights Ordinance as a protected class. The ordinance was introduced in the Human Relations Committee and passed at the subsequent board meeting. As a result of Commissioner Quigley's leadership, Cook County became the second largest jurisdiction in the nation to add gender identity as a protected class.

Commissioner Quigley has also taken his leadership on LGBT issues to the national level. When President Bush announced his support for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution defining marriage as solely between a man and a woman, Commissioner Quigley introduced a resolution denouncing the amendment as discriminatory.

Leadership
In order to add diversity to the County's Commission on Women's Issues, Commissioner Quigley appointed the first openly lesbian woman to be appointed to that Commission. When several community-based HIV/AIDS service providers, experienced difficulty with the county's disbursement system, they came to Commissioner Quigley for help. He worked with the Comptroller's office to streamline and expedite the disbursement system so that providers receive grant funding more quickly and efficiently.