The Human Rights Campaign has confirmed what most of us already know: Springfield is a reasonably welcoming place for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. HRC is a national civil rights group focused on LGBT rights. You’ve probably seen their logo: a blue square containing a yellow equal sign. The group’s annual “Municipal Equality Index” measures how well cities around the U.S. treat their LGBT residents, and Springfield got a respectable score of 76 out of 100 this year. Out of the seven Illinois cities ranked, Springfield finished second only behind Chicago, which got a perfect 100. Among the criteria are whether discrimination based on sexual orientation is banned in employment and public housing, what kind of services cities offer for LGBT residents and whether the city government recognizes same-sex marriages or civil unions for the purpose of employment benefits. Springfield lost points for not having an LGBT liaison to the police department or city council, not specifically banning discrimination based on gender identity and more. To see the full results online for Springfield and dozens of other cities, visit bit.ly/lgbtindex. For an interactive map of the cities, visit cdb.io/1v4A74w.
This article appears in Nov 20-26, 2014.
