On Wednesday, Nov. 20, at 6 p.m., a candlelight vigil will be held at the Thompson Center Plaza, 100 W. Randolph St. The event is part of a nationally coordinated Transgender Day of Remembrance to be held that day in at least 21 cities throughout the U.S.
As of Sept. 10, 11 transgendered individuals are known to have been murdered in the U.S. this year.
"This event gives us an opportunity to remember those who have died simply because they were perceived as 'different,' said Lisa Scheps, event co-chair from It's Time, Illinois. "This is an opportunity for individuals, both in and out of the gender community to come together and say 'this is wrong-stop the killing.'"
"To bring things even closer to home, eight individuals have been killed in Illinois over the past few years for real or perceived gender variance," according to Tina Sievers, co-chair.
The vigil is being coordinated by It's Time, Illinois. It is co-sponsored by Chicago Gender Society, Equality Illinois, Howard Brown Health Center, Chicago Department of Health, Diversity of Rockford, TransGenesis, and the Chi Chapter of Tri-Ess.