New LGBTQ+ Hotline Launched In Illinois Filling Gap Left by Trump’s Closure of Federal Service

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has announced the launch of a new statewide LGBTQ+ hotline, pledging to fight “ignorance with information, and cruelty with compassion.”

The service, called Illinois Pride Connect, will provide free legal advice to LGBTQ+ residents as well as their families and allies. Areas of support include access to healthcare, discrimination, housing, immigration, identity documents, education, and family protections.

The helpline is staffed by trained advocates who can offer one-time advice or connect callers with legal partners for further assistance. Services are available in both English and Spanish.

“Only state in the nation”

Announcing the initiative on social media, Pritzker described it as groundbreaking:

“Illinois is launching a first-of-its-kind legal hotline for LGBTQ+ individuals. We will be the only state in the nation to provide free legal advice to protect the LGBTQ+ community.”

He added:

“Illinois Pride Connect will provide resources on health care, immigration, social services, family protections and beyond. Together, we are fighting ignorance with information, and cruelty with compassion.”

The program builds on the state’s Transgender and Gender-Diverse Wellness and Equity Project, launched in 2024.

Funding and community support

The helpline is backed by $250,000 in state funds and $100,000 in donations from partner organisations, including the Illinois Department of Health and Human Services, Equality Illinois, and the Legal Council for Health Justice.

Julie Justicz, executive director of the Legal Council for Health Justice, told the Chicago Sun-Times that the initiative would especially benefit downstate communities:

“Many of the trial calls came from residents in the south of the state. I imagine volume will increase… [but] we are prepared.”

A response to federal cuts

The creation of Illinois Pride Connect follows the Trump administration’s decision to close the federal LGBTQ+ Youth Specialised Service hotline earlier this year.

Previously part of the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in partnership with The Trevor Project, the LGBTQ+ line was shut down despite warnings that ending the service would endanger young people.

The Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black called the decision “devastating and heart-breaking”:

“Suicide prevention is about people, not politics. The administration’s decision to remove a bipartisan, evidence-based service that supported a high-risk group is incomprehensible.”