Greater Peoria’s LGBTQ community is anxious about what Donald Trump’s second presidency will mean for them.
“Honestly, I’m a bit worried. I’m not worried that more people will be hateful towards us,” said Zoey Carter, the executive director of the Pekin-based Rural Equality Project. “I’m worried that the people that are already hateful toward us are going to be emboldened.”
As a transgender woman, Carter notes that trans people were specifically targeted in a number of Trump campaign ads. She says while the election results came as a shock, it’s also become a call to action.
“Even before this election, in 2024 there was something like 800 anti-trans bills being passed (nationally). This year, 2025, they’re on track toward possibly hitting 1000 anti-trans bills. So there’s a lot of really just like, ‘what are we going to do moving forward?’ she said.
“A lot of the community has kind of gotten together and realized that just sitting around isn’t going to get us anywhere. We’ve got to kind of get together as a community, band together and figure out a way we’re going to be moving forward.”
Central Illinois Friends is a healthcare provider for many LGBTQ people. Executive Director Deric Kimler says he was not stunned by Trump’s victory.
“From where I sit, in terms of where I come from and the folks that we serve and what I hear and the rhetoric I see, I’m not surprised that this happened,” Kimler said. “However, I am hurt that it happened, and I’m hurt because I’ve been listening to him, and I think a lot of people haven’t been.
“I think there’s been a lot of people that have, rightfully so, sheltered themselves from knowing what his policies are and knowing what his stances are, and I haven’t. Central Illinois Friends has been preparing for quite some time now for a Trump second term.”
Kimler says those initial preparations have focused on protecting the organization.
“We’ve seen the threats and we know what happened to Planned Parenthood last go around. We know how his rhetoric can really spike action in our communities. So we’ve upped security big time,” he said. “We also have a plan B, just in case something does happen to our facility or if we are, for whatever reason, targeted.
“We’ve also financially been preparing to be able to try and combat any polled funding that will go against LGBTQ+ healthcare, or healthcare for people living with HIV, or healthcare for people who may not be citizens at the moment or who are immigrants in general, whether here legally or not. We are prepared for that, to be able to sustain a little bit more.”
River Russell, who serves as an at large board member for Peoria Proud, says that possibility of reduced access to healthcare is a major issue.
“Thankfully, as a transgender man who was able to move to Illinois, I have access to safe and affordable healthcare. But I’m from Georgia, and I started my transition when I was in Minnesota,” Russell said. “When I was in Minnesota, I had to drive 2½ hours to get access to my hormones, and then another four hours to get to a pharmacy to pick them up.
“I have found solitude and peace and access in Peoria, but it’s not a national thing. People shouldn’t have to leave their homes to be able to access this.
Cassie Lucchesi is the president of Peoria Proud, a nonprofit advocacy coalition that formed more than a decade ago to promote unity through education and social outreach. She says LGBTQ individuals are uncertain about a lot of things right now.
“They’re worried that they’re not going to be able to access health care, like River said. Women are worried that their rights are going to be taken away. We’re worried that our marriages aren’t going to be recognized in states that aren’t states like Illinois,” said Lucchesi.
“So then what comes with that, right? What protections do you have? Do you have the access and the ability and the privilege to be able to afford a lawyer, to get a power of attorney and a living will drawn up? What we’ve heard specifically – from policy that’s been suggested, or talked about that is potentially coming down the line – is that a lot of those things are going to be jeopardized.”
Equality Illinois
Brian C. Johnson, the CEO of the statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization Equality Illinois, says in addition to healthcare access, another area they are focusing on is education.
“We have great laws in the State of Illinois, laws like the Inclusive Curriculum bill; laws that promote access to reproductive care, abortion care, gender affirming care,” Johnson said. “What I’m worried about is that the federal government – through outright bans or through the withholding of funds to schools and to medical providers – could hold back our ability to make sure that we were providing inclusive curricula and inclusive care.”
Johnson said he has been in touch with leaders of pro-LGBTQ groups on the national level and in other states. He says they are planning to convene in the coming weeks to get a better look at the landscape and plan an approach.
In Illinois, Johnson said first and foremost they will work to shore up state protections regarding data privacy and access to gender affirming care.
“On top of that, we’re also looking what are the ways that we could still push Illinois to be even more affirming of its LGBTQ+ people, keep the LGBTQ+ community even more safe from over-criminalization, from the reach of an anti-equality federal government. That’s going to take some time, but we’re keeping an eye on that,” he said.
“In the long run, we’re also just looking at what the impact this election is going to have on the federal judiciary. We know that because of the constitutional limitations on the presidency that this current president-elect can only serve four more years. But the impact his judicial appointments would span much, much further. So we need to make sure that we’re really pushing across the country to ensure that judges who have a fair and honest respect for all Americans and our rights get appointed.”
Kimler points out that while potential restrictions on gender-affirming care may target LGBTQ people, they would have broader implications.
“If you are a man who identifies as a man and you want to get hair plugs or want to start taking testosterone because your testosterone is low, that is gender-affirming care,” he said. “If you are a woman who identifies as a woman and would like to have breast enhancement or breast reduction, or has to take more estrogen, that is gender-affirming care.”
Many of the LGBTQ individuals interviewed said they don’t believe the Trump win and Republican gains in congress signal a major cultural shift.
“I come back to two things, which I think is pretty clear: We’re not seeing, at least the data that I’m seeing, that there were many voters who shifted from a pro-equality candidate in 2020 to anti-equality candidates in 2024,” Johnson said. “What we are seeing is a lot of people who voted for pro-equality candidates in 2020 just didn’t show up to the poll.
“So I think that’s one thing, and early research is suggesting (that) even though anti-LGBTQ+ ads – and in particular, anti-trans ads – were all over the media landscape in swing states, early research is suggesting it really didn’t move the needle on voters.”
“We’ve been fighting for rights for a long time. This is not a new concept that we would have to continue to ask people to understand our validity and our human experiences,” Lucchesi said. “With all that being said, I don’t necessarily think that it’s a shift in attitude, but rather the possibility that people feel more emboldened to act on and say the things that they have felt that they haven’t felt safe to do so before.”
Russell attributes much of the sentiment against the LGBTQ community to a lack of understanding and acceptance.
“I mean, we’re just people. I went to the grocery store yesterday, I ran errands, I took my dog out, took my dog over to the neighbors’ for a play date,” Russell said. “I think people think of LGBTQ people as, like, their whole focus is around their sexuality or around their gender, but it’s not. My day-to-day life is pretty much the exact same as theirs.”
One bit of relief shared by the each of the LGBTQ community leaders is how Illinois has taken a progressive stance in promoting equality and inclusion and protecting their rights under the guidance of Gov. JB Pritzker.
“We still have to be careful; we still have to be mindful and watchful,” Carter said. “But honestly, it’s people from outside of Illinois that I’m more worried about. In the next coming years, I can see a lot of people immigrating to Illinois from those red states to make sure that they can keep their health care make sure they can keep their jobs and their livelihoods.”
