HIV-AIDS
Governor Pritzker Signs HB 1063, Ending Criminal Penalties for People Living With HIV In Illinois
This announcement was released through the Illinois HIV Action Alliance (IHAA), a coalition of which Legal Council for Health Justice is a member. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SPRINGFIELD, IL – Today, Governor JB Pritzker signed House Bill 1063 into law, which ends criminal penalties for those living with HIV in Illinois, effective immediately. Illinois is now the…
Read MorePolicy Update: Special Education Rights and Decriminalizing HIV
Legal Council advocates worked tirelessly alongside partners to advance policies that improve special education services for Illinois students, as well as a long overdue bill that would end the criminalization of HIV in Illinois.
Read MoreGuest Blog | My Test, My Way: National HIV Testing Day
Today is National HIV Testing Day. Here’s what that means.
Read MoreClient Focus: Samuel
People with HIV still face stigma and potentially seismic fallout if their status is disclosed without their permission.
Read MoreCombating HIV Stigma
This story was originally published in Legal Council’s 2020 Annual Report. Much has changed for people living with HIV since the beginning of the epidemic, but much also remains the same. While we know more about transmission and medical treatment, ignorance and miseducation around HIV continue to fuel stigma against the virus and those who…
Read MoreAdvocates and Legislators Introduce Bill to Decriminalize HIV in Illinois
A new bill in Illinois aims to end criminal penalties against people living with HIV.
Read MoreWorld AIDS Day: Living With HIV in 2020
Legal Council attorney Jessica Rhoades explores issues facing our clients with HIV in 2020.
Read MoreCOVID-19 and HIV: Important Changes to Ryan White
Ryan White funds have made changes to help people with HIV during the COVID-19 crisis.
Read MoreBuilding Better and Healthier Communities: Chancelor’s Story
This story was originally published in Legal Council’s 2019 Annual Report. In 1991, Chancelor Cunningham woke up and couldn’t breathe. Initially, a doctor misdiagnosed him with bronchitis. Later, when things weren’t improving, a new doctor changed the diagnosis to pneumonia and admitted him to a hospital in Bronzeville for an extended stay. “They told me I…
Read MoreClient Focus: Quinn
Quinn, 35, was a single mother raising two children on the south side of Chicago who was hit with an unexpected life storm. Throughout her life she was diagnosed with several mental illnesses, depression, and anxiety. But a late diagnosis of HIV caused the biggest shift of all.
Read More