County ordinance would remove ID requirement for transgender bathroom access

Transgender residents in Cook County soon would be able to use restrooms, dressing rooms and other facilities they choose, based on their gender identities, without having to show IDs, if the county board approves the change Thursday.

Originally, the language of the county's human rights ordinance said the determination of "an individual's sex or gender shall be based upon the sex or gender of that individual as reflected on any official identification of that individual recognized by the State of Illinois, including a driver's license or state identification card."

Commissioner Kevin Morrison, an Elk Grove Village Democrat who spearheaded the change, said, "Every person has the right to live their lives openly and authentically as who they are."

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