Pride Action Tank, a project of the AIDS Foundation Chicago and organizer of the Community Restroom Access Project (CRAP), and Rainbow Café are collaborating to present the 2026 Restroom Rally. This event will take place in two locations, The Hideout (located in Chicago, IL) and Lost Forest Coffeehouse and Pub (located in Carbondale, IL) on July 18, 2026, from 11:00 – 3:00 PM to convene community members, advocates, and allies to raise awareness of the importance of Illinois’ Equitable Restrooms Act (“ERA”)(see 410 ILCS 35/1-35/30), a law meant to protect and enhance bathroom access for all Illinoisians. 

Since 2020, the ERA has mandated that all single-occupancy bathrooms be designated as all-gender, and as of 2023, allows multi-stalled, all-gender bathrooms, one of the first states to pass these provisions. CRAP advocated for the passage of these amendments and seeks to raise awareness of their importance at a time when bathroom access is being restricted on a national level. 

Illinois has made significant efforts to guarantee bathroom access for everyone, inclusive of all gender identities. The 2026 Restroom Rally aims to unite CRAP members, advocates, the public, and allies to highlight the continued importance of safe and inclusive restroom facilities in public areas. Organizers emphasize that the ERA, originally passed in 1991 to ensure bathroom access for women and expanded by amendment, helps reduce barriers, harassment, and discrimination that has historically been experienced by women, transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people in these spaces. Both pieces of legislation also extend benefits to parents and guardians who accompany their child(ren) into restrooms and caregivers who accompany and provide care to individuals, including those with disabilities, in restrooms. 

“Illinois continues to get bathroom access right and serves as a national leader in this area. The ERA is about dignity, safety, and ensuring that every person in Illinois can meet a basic human need without fear, exclusion, arrest, or violence”, said August Hieber, CRAP organizer. “We are organizing the Restroom Rally to draw attention to the gravity of this access and discuss how we can prevent efforts outside of Illinois from impacting our restroom access.” 

Rainbow Café leaders echo the message, noting that restroom access is a public health and human rights issue. “This is not optional. This is the law. And people’s safety is on the line”, said Niky Navarro-Gamboa, Community Center Manager at Rainbow Café LGBTQ Center. “Every day that a restroom remains mislabeled or inaccessible is another day someone is forced to choose between their dignity and their basic needs. Inclusive restrooms are a simple, effective, and necessary way to support LGBTQ+ people, families, caregivers, or anyone who wants to use a restroom in peace.” 

PRIDE ACTION TANK leaders add that, “Across the country, we are seeing the reintroduction of proposed bans on bathroom access, a mirror of the attacks on trans-inclusion we saw unfold 10 years ago, especially with the Supreme Court case Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board,” said Iana Amiscaray, Sr. Manager of Special Projects at Pride Action Tank. “Regardless of gender identity, people have the right to safely use the bathroom that aligns best with their identity. We are organizing the Restroom Rally to not only celebrate our state-protected rights, but to also demonstrate the need for continued advocacy and protection of inclusive spaces.” 

Organizers of the Restroom Rally encourage all members of the community, across identity, age, family or disability status, and other lived experiences, to come to the joint events, learn more about the ERA, support implementation efforts, and advocate for inclusive restroom policies in their own spaces and communities. Pride Action Tank will continue hosting educational events, community discussions, and policy briefings throughout the year following the Rally to maintain energy around this issue. 

Signed:

  • AIDS Foundation Chicago
  • ALMA Chicago
  • Black Alphabet
  • Downstate IL Trans Organization (DITO)
  • Golden Rainbows of Illinois South (GRIS)
  • Life Is Work
  • One Roof Chicago
  • Planned Parenthood of IL Action
  • Pride Action Tank
  • Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago
  • Rainbow Cafe
  • Trans Up Front
  • Youth Outlook

For media inquiries, more information, or for questions, please contact Iana Amiscaray of Pride Action Tank, at [email protected].

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