SPRINGFIELD — A measure awaiting Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature will help protect transgender people and victims of domestic violence who seek to change their names, according to its proponents.
The bill repeals a requirement that those seeking a name change publish a notice in a local newspaper.
It also allows those seeking a name change to ask the court to “impound” the related court documents. That procedure means the records would not be publicly accessible. It’s similar to, though less restrictive than, “sealing” court documents.
Impoundment is available to anyone who self-attests that public disclosure would “be a hardship and have a negative impact on the person’s health or safety.” The bill lays out several categories of people that could apply for impoundment, including trans people, adoptees, survivors of domestic abuse and human trafficking, refugees and others.
“We are forcing survivors of domestic violence, of human trafficking, people who are trans to out themselves for what?” bill sponsor Rep. Kevin Olickal, D-Chicago, said Tuesday. “It doesn’t serve a public safety purpose. It only seeks to serve predators and violent extremists who want to find victims, track them down. People want to live in peace. This bill is about privacy and protection.”
House Bill 5164 passed the state Senate 33-16 on Sunday and passed the House 71-38 two days later. The bill still needs a signature from the governor to become law, but if approved, it will go into effect on March 1.
The bill was an initiative of Equality Illinois, Planned Parenthood, the Coalition Against Sexual Assault and the Coalition Against Domestic Violence, according to bill sponsor Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago.
Mike Ziri, the public policy director for Equality Illinois, said his organization “regularly” hears from transgender people in Illinois who fear publishing details about their name change.
“In fact, having to publish your name change in a newspaper creates a public list of trans people and puts them at real risk for harassment and harm,” Ziri said in a statement after the bill passed. “We know this bill will help people and is consistent with our state’s values of equality and the freedom to live our lives without harassment or harm.”
The bill also reduces the residency requirement for changing one’s name from six months to three.
The lowered requirement will make it easier for people moving to Illinois from “states that have hostile, dangerous, and discriminatory laws,” according to Avi Rudnick, director of legal services at Transformative Justice Law Project of Illinois, which helps transgender people change their names.
Other proponents say that name changes can be a way for individuals to either protect themselves or move on from domestic violence situations.
Under current law, when someone changes their name due to marriage or divorce, they do not have to publish a notice in a newspaper.
Republicans cited concerns over how the process could be used by immigrants or criminals. Sen. Steve McClure, R-Springfield, said the bill did not contain strong enough language to prevent the possibility of “whitewashing of criminal backgrounds.”
Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, criticized the fact that the law only requires “self-attestation” to demonstrate that name change records should be impounded. That process allows individuals to self-attest to hardships and says they may – but are not required to – submit documentation.
“This allows for extraordinary potential to abuse the system and manipulate the process and evade federal immigration authorities,” Rezin said.
Villivalam rebutted several of those arguments Sunday, noting that criminal records and debts are tracked through means other than names, such as social security numbers, tax identification numbers and fingerprints.
The measure also requires courts to notify the Illinois State Police of name changes. ISP must then “update any criminal history transcript or offender registration” to include the new and former name of anyone with a criminal history who is over the age of 18.
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