Illinois county refuses to bow to Trump’s ‘cruel policies’, hires DEI clerk

Officials in Cook County, Illinois, are refusing to meekly submit to US president Donald Trump’s anti-diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) measures. 

On his first day back in power, Trump placed government DEI employees on paid administrative leave, while federal agencies were ordered to cancel any equality-related training and to take down all “outward-facing media” from DEI offices.

In addition, as part of Trump’s “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth” executive order, government agency workers were ordered to remove pronouns from their email signatures. 

But Cook County clerk Monica Gordon has said her office would stand against the president’s “cruel policies”. 

‘Threatening rhetoric and cruel policies’

Marking her 100th day in office, Gordon told reporters that Trump’s stance had led to a surge in requests for records, particularly birth certificates and marriage licences, from immigrant families and same-sex couples who fear for their futures.

“Here in the clerk’s office, we are seeing the devastating effects of the federal administration’s threatening rhetoric and cruel policies and the unsettling impact it is having on the residents we serve,” she said. 

She vowed to appoint the office’s first deputy clerk of DEI, whose job it will be to make sure “everything the clerk’s office does is rooted in equity”.

Gordon went on to say: “Every resident of Cook County deserves to have their cultural and personal identity acknowledged, and I’ll be working to ensure that this office reflects that spirit. We want to make sure every resident’s voice is heard, that everyone feels protected.”

The DEI measures will be integrated into her office next month. 

‘Queer people are your children’

Brian Johnson, the chief executive of LGBTQ+ civil rights organisation Equality Illinois, and a member of Gordon’s transition team added: “Queer people are your children, your doctors, your teachers, your pastors, your neighbours.

“The LGBTQ+ community, particularly my trans siblings, are frightened and under attack.” 

Trump’s crackdown on DEI led to the firing of Frank Zamora, a programme manager at the Texas Real Estate Commission, who refused to remove pronouns from his email signature. His dismissal was celebrated by Elon Musk and Texas governor Greg Abbott.

The president also fired Amy Paris, one of the most senior transgender women in the federal government. 

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.